Last week, I shared part 1 of a short story, which takes place in a world akin to that Water Worlds show that’s been running from Universal Studios for eons.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy part 2 of “Since the Flood”.
It was early in the morning the next day when the assassins struck.
Jehoshaphat’s hut was located on the eastern edge of the village in the fishermen’s district. To get to his hut, one had to cross a 100-foot pier, made by Jehoshaphat’s ancestors. It was the longest pier in the village, and one that all the villagers were familiar with.
The assassins had quiet feet and had no problem making their way through the fishermen’s district without getting seen, much less accosted by anyone. But when they kicked down Jehoshaphat’s door with bows drawn, the hut was empty. There was a small bed, some fishing equipment, and a chair. But there was no Jehoshaphat. Moreover, his fishing spear was missing.
The two assassins looked at each other quizzically and slowly backed their way out of the room, suddenly afraid, as if at any moment, Jehoshaphat’s sea creatures would burst out of the floor, swallowing them whole.
Now, you may think that these men were overreacting. Perhaps, Jehoshaphat was just out fishing early in the morning. Or, perhaps he had spent the night at a friend’s hut after a night of drinking and reverie. Although Jehoshaphat was a respected member of the Council, he was still a young man who was not above such festive activities.
But you see, like everyone else in the village, the two assassins knew the many tales about Jehoshaphat. Dolphins would guide him to waters with plentiful fish, whales would swim alongside his boat, and sea monsters would swallow up his enemies. Or so it was said.
Suddenly, the floorboards beneath the assassins began to shake, and the men thought they heard rumbling and splashing in the waters beneath the hut.
“It’s coming from over there,” one of the assassins said shakily, pointing his bow to the far right corner of the hut.
“Jehoshaphat, if you’re hiding beneath the hut, come out and let us be done with it,” the second man said through gritted teeth.
Both men slowly walked to the increasingly shaking corner of the hut, bows still drawn though not steady. While moving further within the hut may seem unwise, the men were picking their poison. They knew that if the legends of Jehoshaphat were even remotely true, then running back to the village interior wasn’t an option. They would be picked off by the ocean before they made it halfway across the pier.
Suddenly, the hut stopped shaking. For a few minutes, the assassins remained motionless, as though any slight movement would stir whatever sea creatures lurked underneath the hut.
After some time, the men relaxed and began to breathe more easily. Perhaps, their imagination was getting the best of them. The assassins looked at each other and allowed themselves a nervous chuckle. Then, the two men began to walk back to the village.
Their screams were heard early that morning, and several fishermen came over to Jehoshaphat’s hut to see what the commotion was all about. Amos and I were the first to arrive.
“Don’t worry friends,” Jehoshaphat said while attempting to repair his broken door. “Although I’ll admit, it is a bit early in the morning to have one’s home broken into.”
“Where have the attackers gone?” Amos huffed. “Let us find them and take them to Obed.”
“I wish I could tell you,” Jehoshaphat shrugged. “I was in the waters getting the boat ready for my trip to the Ark when they arrived.”
The fishermen swiveled their heads, looking around the pier.
One fisherman asked, “Jehoshaphat, we heard their screams not five minutes ago. Where could they have fled to?”
Rather than responding, Jehoshaphat just stared blankly at the broken door frame.
“Jehoshaphat, do you take us for children -” Amos began, but he stopped.
Jehoshaphat had turned to face the group, his face lined with the weariness of someone much older than his twenty years.
“I do not take you for children,” Jehoshaphat said. “Although, perhaps someone should tell the wives of Hezron and Lud that their husbands were lost at sea.”
The men were silent. You see, Hezron and Lud were good, honest men, with wives and six children between them.
Jehoshaphat went back to tinkering around with the broken door frame.
“Jehoshaphat,” Amos said after some time. “They would never-”
“Let their children starve,” Jehoshaphat interjected. “You are right Amos. They were decent men, and this was not their choice. They… they had been borrowing from Eleazar for the past year in order to feed their growing families. They told me this themselves not many months ago.” Jehoshaphat looked down, eyes watery.
Jehoshaphat turned away from the group and went inside his hut. Perhaps he had already said too much about Hezron and Lud borrowing from Eleazar. While Jehoshaphat did not make any explicit accusations, it was clear what he thought of the whole situation.
By that evening, there was much discussion in the village.
For one, the whole village mourned the strange disappearance of Hezron and Lud, and many worried about the future of the two mens’ growing families. Other villagers, meanwhile, discussed the potential of foul play. Hezron and Lud were seasoned fishermen and strong men. For these men to get lost at sea was simply beyond belief. There was more to the story, these villagers insisted.
And then, there were the half dozen fishermen who arrived at Jehoshaphat’s hut earlier that morning. While they knew that Jehoshaphat had something to do with the absence of Hezron and Lud, they also did not know what exactly took place that morning. So, they stayed quiet. After all, Jehoshaphat was their friend and leader.
Later in the day, a rare bit of good news arrived in the village. In an act of apparent magnanimity, Eleazar declared that he would be taking responsibility for the families of Hezron and Lud. Moreover, he swore that God’s justice would be served to those responsible for the mens’ disappearances.
Many in the village sighed in relief upon hearing news of Eleazar’s generosity. At least the families of Hezron and Lud would be taken care of. Others, however, wondered what motivated Eleazar to engage in a rare act of generosity.
And amidst all this chatter, there was one final rumor swirling about the village: the next morning, a delegation was being sent to the Ark in order to negotiate Noah’s tribute.
Many questions were asked in hushed tones that night.
“Who will we send?”
“What will be discussed?”
“Have we forgotten Azekah?”
Given the somber mood, many went to their huts early that day. Amos, however, was one of the few villagers not in his hut. He was in Obed’s home, speaking animatedly.
“Eleazar doesn’t intend for Jehoshaphat to make it to the Ark. That’s why Hezron and Lud were at the hut of Jehoshaphat this morning.”
“This is a bad thing for you to tell me Amos,” Obed murmured. “You have just cast Jehoshaphat as a primary suspect in these disappearances.”
“Yes, I have,” Amos admitted. “And if you believe that Jehoshaphat was responsible, then you must also ask the question of what Hezron and Lud were doing at Jehoshaphat’s hut early that morning. I’m sure I don’t have to spell things out for you, Obed.”
Obed said nothing. As head of the village Council, Obed had access to the village debt ledger, which meant that he knew about the large amounts of debt that Hezron and Lud had accumulated from Eleazar.
Up to this point, Obed had refrained from any outright confrontation with Eleazar and his allies. When Eleazar had pushed for reduced taxes on his family’s farm-grown fish, Obed remained neutral. When Eleazar had steered Council infrastructure projects towards the properties of his supporters, Obed bit his tongue.
Obed knew that if he publicly challenged Eleazar and lost, he would lose any perceived political power that his role had left. So Obed waited. And after nearly a decade of waiting, Obed was finally ready. He had found the right wave to die on.
Realizing this, Obed let out a rare smile. Amos raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
Grinning, Obed said, “Amos, for our village to survive, we must re-negotiate tribute with Shem, and this trip to the Ark must go as planned. I will allow you to go along on this trip along with Jehoshaphat. Moreover, you may bring men, equal to the number within Eleazar’s party.”
Amos did his best to contain his excitement. With Eleazar’s accumulation of favors and fish, he could pull many strings in the village. But on the trip to the Ark, they would be away from the village and out in the open waters.
And now, without a numbers advantage on the trip, Eleazar’s powers would be much diminished. These developments would certainly pave the way for Jehoshaphat to get his much-desired conference with Shem, the eldest son of Noah.
“Obed, this is..” Amos stammered. “This is a bold plan, a plan so bold in fact that I don’t know if Eleazar will stand for it. Perhaps, there is another way -”
“Am I the leader of this village or not?” Obed growled.
“Of course, Obed, I just -”
“Then it’s settled.”
Amos, not knowing what to say, bowed and left Obed’s hut.
Obed remained seated and closed his eyes. He paid attention to the waves lightly nudging the walls of his hut. Given the impending conflict with Eleazar, Obed felt that this could be the last night that he would listen to the ocean’s heartbeat.
So Obed stayed that way for the rest of the night, listening.