IMAGINE... The Great Flood Page 5

  Before Elizar could offer a reply, more movement came at the top of the hill. Now Corey saw a huge wave of people walk over it and come to stand behind Elizar. Ardad was part of the crowd. He came up and stood beside the dark one. His eyes locked onto Corey’s.

  Elizar continued his speech. “I do not have to justify my words or actions to someone like you or your peasant family for that matter. You, however, have to do what I say or there will be a massive problem.”

  Shem ignored the threat. “Come on, brother Corey.”

  “TAKE HIM!”

  One of the giants bent down and grabbed Corey.

  “Shem, son of Noah, I will take the boy’s life if you disobey. Now walk ahead of us and tell that father of yours to let us board.”

  Shem tossed the staff he’d been carrying up to Corey. Then he closed his eyes.

  “Shem, go now or the boy won’t be alive to help anymore.”

  Shem took off running across the valley toward the ark.

  Corey hung suspended in the air and saw Elizar step closer. The world was about to flood, and Corey wouldn’t be on the ark.

  At least he could see in the distance that Shem was almost to the boat. The last of the animals were walking up the huge wooden ramp.

  Still hanging in the air, Corey tried to push away the reality that this was how he was going to die.

  This was the end.

  CHAPTER 13

  A thunder of a hundred storms boomed over the valley, causing the ground to shift. More thunder. More shifting. The earth began to crack.

  To catch his fall, the giant had to drop Corey.

  The ground had not shaken under the weight of the Nephilim.

  It seemed to have come from underneath Corey’s feet, from somewhere deep within the earth. Ardad looked like he had just received the worst news of his life.

  But maybe a group of giants had fallen and Corey just missed it. He turned to survey the valley.

  There were no signs that the giants had any men down. But what Corey did see were massive cracks ripping across the ground. It was as if the ground were made from paper and some invisible hand was tearing it up. Ardad’s face was now the reflection of total fear. The villagers who had come in Elizar’s defense were now running for their lives.

  And then the whole world shifted again. The ground pulsed upward and threw Corey on his back. It took a second to realize boulders the size of cars were rolling straight at him. More earth exploded, sending dirt flying over him. It was getting hard to breathe or see. But, through it all, Corey managed to hold on to the new staff Shem had given him.

  And then came the water! Massive geysers blew hundreds of feet in the air, up through cracks in the surface. Water sprayed over Corey, making it nearly impossible for him to get his bearings. He thrashed and flailed against nature’s fury until he could finally stand on his feet.

  But he was no sooner standing than he looked out and saw something more ominous than the rising waters. It was more frightening than the idea of moving to a new state or a hundred nightmares rolled into one.

  Elizar and the entire Nephilim army.

  Evil backed by more evil.

  And then, with a shattering boom, the giant army attacked. Corey had nowhere to go.

  He yelled out for the Lord to intervene.

  The first one to reach him was Elizar. He looked at Corey and grimaced. “I’m impressed that you made it this far. I thought you’d perish back in the well.”

  Corey searched for a way out, but there wasn’t one. His brain sounded the panic bells.

  In just seconds, the enemy’s soldiers would extinguish Corey like a dying flame.

  Where was his mother? His dog, Molly? He wanted to see them one last time.

  “But,” Elizar said, “you’ve proved no different than the fool and his ark-building, animal-loving family.”

  The Nephilim joined their grunts and yells into a venomous chorus.

  “TEAR HIM APART!”

  “RIP HIS LIMBS OFF!”

  “THROW HIM INTO THE ABYSS!”

  Corey refused to stand there and do nothing. He ran straight at Elizar. The man’s face changed from a mocking smile to a concerned glare. Corey swung the staff at the man, surprising himself at how much adrenaline was racing through his system. The staff connected with Elizar’s left knee like it was a slider, pitched low and outside.

  More fountains of water blew up through the earth, spouting like supernatural geysers trying to spray the heavens with their powerful might. A wave swept Corey and Elizar off their feet and carried them about two hundred yards away from the giants. As fast as it came, the mighty wave receded.

  “Corey,” Elizar yelled, “you can’t beat me! My master’s army is too powerful for a little boy like you.”

  Corey looked past the man and saw the giants jumping into the growing current. They were trying to reach Corey and teach him a lesson about not obeying Elizar.

  Corey prayed out loud again. “Father God, please save me!”

  Elizar got to his feet and stood over Corey. “It doesn’t look like your God is listening, does it?”

  Corey, still on his back, clothes drenched from the growing flood, looked at the evil man standing over him. He considered his words. It certainly felt to Corey like he was alone and God was somewhere far away.

  “Corey, all I need from you is that staff Shem gave you. Just hand it over, and I will be on my way.”

  The flood story was clear. The world was destroyed, and everyone perished except for Noah and his family. Corey still couldn’t understand why he was here, experiencing all this, but he was deciding right at this moment to trust God to see him through. “I’m not giving you the staff.”

  The earth rocked back and forth beneath them. New cracks exploded open all around them. More towers of water rocketed toward the dark sky. It was all Corey could do to keep his hands clenched tightly to the wooden staff.

  The Nephilim had made it through the churning tide to Elizar. They climbed out of the water and stood on either side of the man cloaked in black. They fixed their hideous eyes on Corey.

  “Young man, don’t be ridiculous. You can see we are more powerful. You are outnumbered and hopeless. And it is clear your God isn’t coming to save you.”

  As the last word came from Elizar’s mouth, another blast of water shot up from behind Corey. The ground beneath his back gave way, and he felt himself falling. The ground had been torn in two. He could see Elizar and the giants, but they were still high up on the cliff. Corey kept falling until finally, he plunged into a body of water. The force of hitting the swirling sea dazed Corey. He didn’t know which way was up. His body was being yanked under. Water kept spraying in his mouth, making it harder to breathe. His lungs started to burn.

  One of the giants who had been mocking Corey back on the cliff threw a log at him. The wooden missile plunged into the water mere feet away from Corey. He managed to reach out and grab the wood with one hand, still not letting go of the staff. Temporary relief came as the current carried the boy and the beam farther away from the evil ones.

  Corey felt fear wash over him, as real as the waves that moved his feeble body up and down, up and down. All he wanted to do was see his mother and Molly. He called their names, but they didn’t answer. The wind blew fierce, like a thousand wolves howling at a thousand moons.

  On the horizon, the immense ark was being carried away. The old man and his family had no idea the boy was dying.

  Corey couldn’t think straight. His body was broken, and his brain was shutting down. He tried to figure out a way to save himself, but there was none.

  A wall of water slammed over Corey, ripping the log from his grip. The rain poured down in golf ball–sized drops. It rattled Corey’s face and head.

  Through the watery haze, Corey could see the giant pick up another log and hurl it down at him.

  The water was pulling the ark away into darkness.

  And it was doing the same to Corey….
/>   CHAPTER 14

  The raging water lifted Corey up and then brought him crashing down. He braced for the feeling of being pummeled by the log, but it never came.

  Elizar and his evil army of giants weren’t so lucky. As the rain fell, huge drops splattering over Corey and the newly formed sea, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The entire cliff came crashing down into the churning waters.

  Elizar and the Nephilim all fell into a watery grave. But there was no time to celebrate, because Corey had to make it to the ark.

  Corey had somehow managed to hold on to the staff. But it was getting hard to concentrate on holding on to the log, too. At least the current was carrying him straight toward the ark, because there was no way he could steer. Corey was at the mercy of the flood.

  Hanging on with all the strength that remained, he let the current carry him toward the massive ark. He was headed straight for it. Within minutes he was going to be rescued, and all of this would be over.

  He saw the old man, Noah, standing on the plank waiting with outstretched arms to receive Corey and pull him to safety. Corey was so close.

  But just before he reached the ark, something yanked on his leg and sucked him under.

  A powerful hand gripped his leg—the giant hand of one of the Nephilim was holding him down below the water. Corey couldn’t hold his breath much longer. He said a final silent prayer.

  His lungs were on fire. He knew as soon as he opened his mouth, the water would rush in and put out that fire, but it would also put out his life. He couldn’t think. He lost all control of his arms and legs. He felt the staff being tugged away.

  But just as his brain commanded his mouth to open, Corey felt his body being pulled up out of the water. A blurry form had lifted him up by the other end of the staff.

  Cool air blew all around him. He breathed the life-giving oxygen in…deep, and it was good.

  The next things he heard were voices calling his name.

  Was he in the ark, safe from the Nephilim?

  One of the voices sounded familiar. It was soft and sweet and sounded just like his mother.

  CHAPTER 15

  PRESENT DAY

  THREE MONTHS LATER

  CLEARWATER, FLORIDA

  The Gulf of Mexico reached out to the horizon like a deep blue field of hope. An orange setting sun cast glittering light across the scene. Corey couldn’t believe how incredible God’s design was. The vast waters made him flash back to the great flood experience. Many times since the move from Texas to Florida, Corey wondered what it all meant.

  Watching Molly jump through the crashing waves made Corey smile. His dog snapped at the white foam and barked an unknown message to the surf. Corey thought whatever it was, Molly was happy.

  Things did have a way of working out, because just like his dog, Corey was happy and had to admit that moving halfway across the United States to Florida wasn’t at all like he expected. In the three short months that he had been here, Corey made new friends and was adjusting to his new school.

  The best part of the move so far was that his new house was literally a block away from the beach. His mom made a deal with him that if he kept a good attitude about things, she would bring him and Molly to the beach after school. It was amazing to be able to come out on the sand and run through the water anytime he wanted.

  And then there was his new friend Noah. God surely had a sense of humor there, because Noah’s dad was a fisherman and owned a big boat that he took the boys on just last week. Noah was turning eleven today, and his pirate-themed birthday party was starting here on the beach with a scavenger hunt for buried treasure.

  “Hey, Corey!”

  Corey turned and saw his new friend waving. Noah had his favorite Tampa Bay Buccaneers shirt on. He loved the logo: tattered red battle flag with a skull and crossed swords. Noah sketched it in class any chance he could get. That’s why Corey had no problem picking out a present: a Bucs football with the logo printed on one side and the NFL lettering on the other.

  “Hey!” Corey handed Molly off to his mother and then jogged over to Noah. He handed Noah his present.

  “Thanks! Come on. We’re starting off up on the pier. My uncle Mike is pretending to be a pirate. He’s going to hand us treasure maps and give us an idea where the loot is hidden.”

  Corey followed his friend down the shore to the fishing pier. The boys hurried up the wooden stairs and through the bait shop to the other side where Noah’s uncle waited in his full pirate regalia.

  After giving each of them a rolled-up piece of manila paper, Pirate Mike told the boys that their map would help them find the buried treasure, which included everything from a video game to actual money. “If you’re not finding anything,” Uncle Mike added, “come get me. I’ll be over there by the sand dunes watching the sunset.”

  The boys took off running back out through the bait shop and down to the beach. They all wanted the video game. But Noah stayed behind. He smiled at Corey.

  “What’s up?” Corey asked.

  “My parents came up with the idea of giving me a different map than everyone else. Most of the good stuff is on my map.”

  “Cool. Where do we start?”

  Noah unrolled his map and scanned it. “Looks like the best loot is over that way by the dunes.”

  Corey gave his friend a thumbs-up.

  “My mom said she was bringing Hunter. I’m gonna see if they’re here yet!”

  Corey’s heart went out to his friend. Noah told him the story how he had been playing with his two dogs, Hunter and Sky, last Friday. Noah’s dad threw the tennis ball over the fence. And when Noah went to grab it, he came back in their yard but forgot to close the gate. That night, after Noah had gone to bed, his mother let the dogs out. Sky never came back.

  Noah couldn’t bear the guilt. His parents couldn’t console him. But for some reason, Noah talked to Corey.

  “Hey, I see my mom!” Noah climbed up on the railing to get a better view of the parking lot. He leaned out to wave at his mother.

  “What’s up?”

  “My mom’s got Hunter! I see—”

  Then time seemed to slow to a sickening pace. Corey watched in disbelief as his friend lost balance and fell forward, out over the railing. Down into the ocean.

  “No!” Corey yelled but then heard—

  “Corey! Help me!”

  What?

  Noah hadn’t fallen into the water!

  Not yet.

  He’d reached out, managed to grab the pier, and was hanging by one hand.

  Corey dropped to his knees. “Noah! Grab my hand!”

  The boy’s eyes were wide from fear. “Help me, Corey! Please, help me!”

  Corey lay flat on his stomach and grabbed his friend’s arm. “I’ve got you, Noah!” But the weight began pulling down harder than Corey could pull up. Soon, Noah would have to let go and Corey would have to watch. Then his friend would hit the churning water and soon be taken down into its watery depths.

  “I’ve got you!”

  But not for long.

  A man who had been fishing turned and saw the two boys. He dropped his pole on the pier and ran over to help. The fisherman knelt down and grabbed Noah’s arm. “Okay, got him!”

  Corey let go of his friend’s arm and moved back. He watched the man pull Noah up onto the pier.

  “Thanks, Corey. You saved me!”

  Corey couldn’t believe the similarities to his own experience with the flood. He had just saved his new friend from falling into the water. All he needed now was to see an ark floating on the Gulf…

  The fisherman helped the boys walk back down the wooden steps of the pier. They made their way across the warm white sand toward the parking lot.

  Noah looked up and saw his mother was now walking two dogs. Both golden retrievers.

  “Sky?”

  Noah’s mother unleashed the dogs. Both ran right for Noah. Corey waited a few steps back to let his friend embrace the moment.

  “
Sky!” Noah hugged his dogs and looked at his mother, who had knelt down in the sand by her son. “How?”

  Noah’s mother reached out and put one hand on her son and the other on the retriever. “Turns out a family on the other side of our neighborhood found her Friday night. They took her in and loved on her, but didn’t see our sign until yesterday. I asked if she could stay there last night so we could surprise you today.”

  Corey knew the feeling his friend had in his heart. The one where you know you are blessed. The one that’s indescribable because words can’t define the emotions. Just as Noah thought that his dog was gone forever, only to now hug her again. Just as Corey thought that moving to Florida was going to be a nightmare, only to now meet his new friend.

  His mom was right. Things change.

  But God doesn’t.

  Corey stood back and watched his friend get covered in hugs and kisses, from both his animals and his parents.

  He imagined God doing the same for all His children.

  Corey finally understood how much God loved him.

  He closed his eyes and felt the sun on his back.

  Thank You, Lord.

  Thank You.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Matt Koceich is a husband, father, and public schoolteacher. Matt and his family live in Texas.