by Summer Lee
Achava saw that the bullets, ricocheting off of the nearby rocks, caused Sam to lose his balance more often than not. Yet he was doing his best to hurry up the side of the mountain, while still keeping a good stride and not falling back into his wife. That could be the death of both of them if he did. He staggered more. His concentration was wavering. She had to think about keeping her balance for her baby’s sake. That included Sam not falling on her, and the energy field inside her working properly. The field was unlike the other abilities and powers she had. That one had to be focused on to keep it going.
The trek to the summit seemed like an eternity. It was a lot further away than what they had first experienced it to be. Plodding along behind Sam, Achava felt a piercing pain in her back that radiated to her chest. She had been hit again. She prayed and held her peace.
Bullets disintegrated into the aura of God’s protectiveness. Sam looked at Achava, who frowned weakly and waved her hands at him to keep going.
She concentrated as a shimmering aura of golden light started to grow from her hand. As they made it to the summit, the energy surrounded them both—and just in time.
The Israeli military on top of the summit obviously did not know about the surrender. Achava shouted to them, “Your foot soldiers settled with us. Please go back to your base.”
The combatants with firearms were Egyptians. They fired on Sam and Achava. Sam looked at her in fear, as a few of the shots were almost on target.
They ran like the dickens. Once Achava realized that she and Sam were too far away for the shooters to hit again, she touched his shoulder briefly. “Sam. We won’t be hit by anyone right now. I have to lower the protective field to take them on while you keep going.”
“I won’t leave you, Achava!” he exclaimed, without waiting to hear her plan.
“I’m not going now,” she said. “If I don’t do this now, they will eventually overtake us and I don’t think the field would prevent an all-out assault.”
Suddenly, Achava took a bullet on her calf muscle, making it impossible for her to continue walking. She waved Sam on. Sam wasn’t going to be waved on. His anger was visible to Achava. “That’s it!” he yelled, stopping. “Achava, I’m staying with you!” He stepped in front of his wounded wife.
He turned and yelled to the military, saying, “If it’s blood you want, then it’s blood you’ll get!”
He spun the staff like a baton in his hands as if he had practiced the move for years. He then hit one of the soldiers with the bottom of the staff, knocking him down the slope.
One soldier rushed in to flank Sam, but Sam held his staff up. When he did, a breeze started to blow. With one hand on the staff and the other in front of Achava he glared on the approaching adversaries. He called out, “Enough!” Sam’s voice echoed through the valley, startling everyone.
He then slammed the bottom of the staff down upon the step in front of him. The entire mountain shook violently, causing some of the enemy to fall backward. The ones that held their ground looked on with no expressions, marching upward.
“Let there be blood!” Sam bellowed, as the staff in his hand vibrated. He placed it on a large rock in front of him, holding onto it with both hands.
What happened next would be sealed in Achava’s mind for the rest of her days. She saw something Biblical in nature—similar to an experience of Moses.
When the staff glowed, something that looked like blood, spewed forth from the rock, with the force of a fire hose. Everyone in front of the blast was immediately knocked backward, to the bottom of the hill. Even the strength of the military was no match for the power of the Staff of Moses.
Sam didn’t look surprised that time as the red liquid continued to flow, causing a blood-like waterfall of sorts to flood downhill. It soon swept everything and everybody off of the mountain, cleansing it.
The pain in Achava’s injured leg flared, while she put all her weight on her good leg. She had been better, but was glad that Sam hadn’t been hurt worse than he had. He appeared to show no aftereffects of being hit by a fireball. Time sped by as the enemy was washed away completely.
Sam said, “I am sure that those who pursued us are a safe distance down the mountain now, so let’s get over to that V.T.O.L. While we can.” He helped his wife by putting his arm around her. He became a human crutch so she could lean against him while he assisted her to the plane on top of the summit.
Sam opened the door with one hand while holding her up with the other. It was the same hand he was using to hold the staff in. He felt the strength flow into him. They could use the aircraft, because the ones who flew it in died in the battle. She was happy when they finally were safe inside. “Sam, what is a V.T.O.L.?”
“It is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft,” he said. “It is one that can hover, take off, and land vertically. Neat, huh?”
“Does the classification include fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors?”
“How do you know that?”
“I guess I got it from Anthea.”
He turned to her with a desperate look. “Is there anything else in those powers that Anthea gave you that include flying one of those aircrafts?”
“Hm-m. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft that hovers, takes off, and lands vertically.” Achava looked over at the disabled helicopter. It was worthless. The V.T.O.L. held her interest. She searched her soul internally to see if maybe Anthea had given her a power to fly one of them, She then smiled. “Yes! I think I can do this.”
“So let’s go.”
Chapter the Tenth
SAM LOOKED AT THE CONTROLS and said, “I don’t know how to fly this thing.” He looked toward the cockpit and then back at Achava with a frustrated look.
She worked her way to the cockpit and glanced at the control panel. She smiled slightly. “It’s strange, but I think I understand what to do.”
Sam said, “I will check the transmitter and flight-pack batteries to make sure they are at full charge. I at least know how to do that.”
“Okay.” Looking at him, she said with great concern, “We must leave immediately.”
“I know.” He kissed her and reluctantly agreed. Sam helped Achava onto the pilot’s seat of the abandoned V.T.O.L. After she was seated, Sam made her as comfortable as possible. He told her to rest while he looked for bandages. Concerned, he asked, “Does your faith have any healing abilities?”
“I don’t know. I did pray.” Achava seemed optimistic, in spite of her injuries. “Certain things are blocked in my mind, because of where we are and the energy field around Mt. Sinai. It’s almost like a dampener. I’ll do my best to be positive. Let me try.”
Sam was nervous. He inhaled, taking in a deep breath and letting it out quickly. “What about the baby? How is she faring?”
Achava looked down at her tummy and smiled. “She’s resilient. God is protecting her. You do understand that I cannot…”
“Hold back,” he interrupted. “I know. Especially after what’s been going on. We have to get out of here. I’m going to check for a first aid kit of some kind to bandage your wounds.” He moved her shirt collar to one side to look more closely at her wound. “It looks like the bullet went through your shoulder.”
Tearing the tail off her shirt, she handed the piece to him and said, “Use this as a tourniquet. We can’t spare the time to search for anything right now. Just wrap it tightly.”
He did as she said.
“The instructions are here for the radio. It shows the manufacturer recommendations for a range check. It says never to turn your radio on without following the frequency procedure for your field,” said Achava, handing the paper to him.
“Just forget the radio,” Sam said, reading the instructions. “You should run up the engine to remove the glow plug starter. Changes in atmospheric pressure can affect the previous settings.” He glanced at the dashboard. “Depending on our field’s pit area setup, it may be necessary to warm
the airplane up to start the engine. Do that. Then let’s get out of here.”
“Okay. Let me see.” She looked at the control panels and then at him. “I know that we have to take chances.” She looked everything over in front of her and laughed. “At first glance, I couldn’t make heads or tails of this. Then my mind just opened up to understand each of the controls and their uses. Now I realize that I need to choke the engine and throttle setting to start the engine. After starting the engine, I need to adjust the needle valve for slightly rich setting. ”
“How do you know that?”
“I think I got this information from an outside source. I just know I can fly this thing!”
“That’s good enough for me,” he said, strapping himself into the co-pilot’s seat. Achava sat in the pilot’s seat and prepped the vehicle for lift off. He grinned. “That information came from your sister, didn’t it?”
“Yes, and I’m glad it did.”
Sam looked out the window and said that he saw members of the Egyptian make it to the summit.
“That is because the Israelis surrendered.”
When they spread out and rushed toward the vehicles, he said, “Move this thing. They’re coming for us.”
“But they are on foot. We’re flying.” The engine started and Achava was ecstatic. “I did it!”
“And I love you for it,” he replied, with a sense of urgency. “Celebrate later! Fly now! Please!”
She grimaced as pain shot through her shoulder and calf. She gritted her teeth and worked the controls.
“Achava,” Sam said, quietly. “I love you. I will love you forever, but I would like to see tomorrow. I know you’re doing the best you can, but they have anti-aircraft weapons out there.”
Achava looked at Sam with no expression, then turned her attention back to flying like a seasoned pilot. “Roger that.”
“If you can’t get us in the air before they get here, then I’ll have no choice but to go outside and use the staff,” Sam said. Sam glared out the window as he saw one of the soldiers carrying an RPG launcher was setting up about 20 yards away from them.
“No!” she returned. “You will not have to go outside! I’m getting us in the air now! Come on,” she said to the V.T.O.L. They had to let things play out.
Looking in the rearview mirrors, they saw a soldier load an RPG launcher, while another one aimed it at them.
The hordes acted like savage animals with one goal in mind. To tear apart the V.T.O.L. and everything in it—including Sam and Achava.
The craft started to vibrate, as Sam realized it was slowly lifting off the runway. Gunshots could be heard coming from outside. She was in the air. Whew!
The soldier with the RPG launched the rocket. Sam saw a smoke trail snake erratically behind the rocket, as his wife made a hard left to avoid impact. The missile barely missed their aircraft and instead, turned back and hit the helicopter. Sam blinked his eyes. The bright flash of light and flaming debris could make it impossible to navigate. He looked back and saw soldiers being blown away in different directions. The force of the blast also knocked captains out of their vehicles. The plane shook violently, but kept going.
Achava looked up. “Father. I know that you have not forsaken us. Please protect this craft and give me wisdom. I’ll take care of the driving.” The engines were rotating into position so that the vehicle could move quickly forward. The craft had lifted off the summit with several soldiers hanging on to the outside. They could not bring it down. Every once in a while, one would hit the side with a long metal pinging sound. Since Achava had veered near the helicopter, it set off a reaction. She had jerked the aircraft immediately away, just as the helicopter exploded. The ones on the outside all fell off.
Sam tried to help as Achava fought to regain control. The explosion caused the craft to spin out of control in midair.
He thought about the choices that everyone had made. He wondered how easily it would have been to turn him around when he was younger. He thought he had real faith back then. That was nothing compared to the faith he had now. Then again, he had experienced physical proof of the existence of God. He had become an adopted son of God. He questioned whether his faith was because of what he had seen and whether it was even enough to live by. Achava smiled, as she flew the V.T.O.L. into the sky. “A penny for your thoughts.”
“It’s nothing.” Everything seemed like it was going in slow motion for Sam. The feeling of pity came back to him. The soldiers seemed pitiful. “I know what you meant now,” he said, calmly. “There shouldn’t be any casualties in this war.”
She nodded, “Agreed.” Her eyes filled with tears. She then looked ahead and gave the aircraft her full attention.
All was quiet, except for a buzzing sound coming from the motor.
“Yes!” Achava abruptly yelled in triumph as she straightened the craft out and flew away from Mt. Sinai. She was extremely excited. Sam looked at her and forced a smile.
“That’s great you are happy.” Sam expressed mirth. Flying along, it was safe to have small talk and just visit. But no one was in the mood.
She gasped. Sam turned to look at her. She quickly turned toward the side window. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
Sam looked in the same direction at the same time that she was looking and felt his heart sink as well.
There were several Egyptian military helicopters headed for them. Sam tried to count them, but there were too many to count.
“Any ideas as to what I should do?” she asked, staring on in disbelief. She pointed to the staff of Moses, which Sam was still holding. “Use the power of the staff, please.”
Sam tapped it. The staff started to glow. Sam was sensitive to its movement. “I think the staff knows where we should be going. We need to need to turn back.”
Achava looked at Sam and said she trusted that he knew what he was doing. It was now pure instinct to trust as she did. He was the same way. They were working as one now, trusting the staff of Moses—trusting God. One slip up and they would both be killed.
She made a sharp turn as directed. She could thus get away from the oncoming fleet. After she straightened out, she sped over Mt. Sinai and continued in the opposite direction. As they flew over the summit, Achava said that the helicopters were still in hot pursuit.
Sam tried to take it all in. The thought of being chased through Egyptian airspace was almost more than he could fathom. He watched Achava keep all of her focus on their safety. She kept the plane in the air and away from their enemies. He smiled. “I am so proud of you.”
He also realized that his part in all of it was far from over. He hated the fact that she was flying while injured. He also knew that she could take more physical punishment than he could. It was in her genes. He would never admit that out loud though.
A red light started to blink on the dashboard, accompanied by an annoyingly loud beeping sound. It brought him out of his thoughts abruptly. “What is it? Are we out of gas?”
She tried to smile. “Nothing so mundane, I’m afraid. We have been target locked. Some kind of missile from the looks of it.”
“Missiles?” Sam would never get used to that scenario. “What do we do? Do you have the skills to avoid their attacks?” He tried to not show the panic in his voice, but he was not succeeding.
“No,” she said, nonchalantly. “Although, I do have an idea. I will need your help as a navigator. All you have to do is guide us in a straight line. You don’t have to do anything else, until I get back.”
“Get back?” Sam exclaimed. “It’s not like you can just leave to get some milk at the corner store!”
She giggled as she tried to contain her anxiety. “I feel energized and need you to work with me and don’t ask questions. Only because it’s probably better that you don’t understand. I trusted you on the direction to fly, because of your bond with an ancient artifact. I ask that you have the same faith in me now.”
He lowered his head in shame. She was right. �
��I’m… sorry. I’m just having trouble accepting all of this, in spite of what we’ve been through in the past. This is really different. I take it you’re going to Soul Merge? How do you know you have the power back?”
“The same way that you knew which way to go,” she said with confidence. “I am going with my gut.”
He smiled and was thankful that she was his partner in all things. He knew she saw it in his eyes.
“There is an autopilot…” she continued, “… but just in case we get hit, I’ll need you on the controls. It will take too long to disengage the autopilot.”
He raised a brow. “If you don’t mind me asking… what exactly are you going to get?”
She got up from the pilot’s seat, as he took her place. He placed the staff under the seat so that it stuck out of the back to assist her.
She groaned because of the pain. “Experience,” she said, then disappeared.
Chapter the Eleventh
ACHAVA KNEW THAT IN ORDER to gain the experience needed to be able to avoid the imminent air assaults, she needed to get the expertise from the lead pilot in the squadron behind them.
Now if she could just find the lead craft.
She didn’t know if the helicopter in the front was actually the lead one, but it was a good place to start.
She hoped that the Soul Merge would take her next to the pilot, because she had no idea how many people were in there that she would have to contend with.
She had never tried a Soul Merge so precise before, but then she never had all of her sister’s abilities to help her before either.
She held her breath when she Soul Merged from the cockpit of the V.T.O.L., expecting the worst.
When she appeared in front of the pilot in the lead helicopter, she had to bend over to fit into the tight space. Since she didn’t land in the passenger seat, it was awkward. Being in the pilot’s face made it extremely difficult for the pilot to fly. She was embarrassed because of the space restrictions.