A story based on Psalm 27~Part 2
Before he knew it, it was 6 in the morning the following day. He couldn't tell night from day in the cave, but when he woke, he looked at his watch. He must have gotten 4 or 5 hours of sleep that night, which was a relief. He always carried a jug of water in the back of his jeep for emergencies, along with power bars ans some crackers. He managed to take the food and water with him when he left his jeep. He took a survival course last year because he liked to go hiking in the mountains with Kyle. It worked well for him now. He drank and ate little, just enough to get him by, because there were only a dozen bars and crackers and a gallon of water. He thought, thank goodness I filled it up Monday morning! He wondered how long he could hide in the cave, and if anyone would be able to rescue him. No one may not know where he is. He looked out the entrance of the cave. The sunlight was just touching down on the trees and the rocks around the cave. He squinted from the brightness of the light and peeked out carefully to see if anyone was hunting him. He had the pistol in hand and walked out of the cave. The light was too bright for him since he had been in the cave for a couple of days, where it was dark. He noticed an eagle soaring in the east, near the pines on the top of the mountains. It was a beautiful sight in the midst of Drew's horror. He saw the snow covered trees and rocks. The was an owl in the distance. He thought to himself, I could spend the rest of my life out here, just as long as I had food, water and no one trying to kill me. The sunlight kept him from shivering as he did last night. His peace subsided when all of a sudden he heard crunching in the snow.
He quietly ran back into the cave without anyone seeing him. He then heard a couple of male voices, one was an American and the other voice seem to have a South American accent. He heard muffled voices when he entered the cave. They were talking about Drew and he heard his name. He went into a panic. He listened quietly and intently as the strangers talked to each other, but couldn't make anything out. He was terrified. They suddenly stopped talking and it was deathly quiet out there. No voices. No crunching snow, just dead silence. His fear grew. What was next?, he thought. He pulled out his Aunt Rita's pistol to be ready for a fight. He didn't cock the pistol, for fear that the men would hear the click. He heard crunching snow and voices again. He sat on a rock and prayed. This was only the second time in a matter of days. He was getting quite use to praying now. He learned from Kyle to give praise to God, even in the worst of times, so he praised Him silently. He remembered a song from Youth Group, on his first night at church. It was Shout to the Lord. He wanted to shout, thinking of that song, but only shouted inwardly. He felt a release of joy at that moment. There were men out to kill him and yet he felt joy, just thinking about Jesus for the moment. He shook his head in unbelief.
He stopped for a moment when he heard the two men talking about him again. He noticed them calling each other by their names. He heard one guy call the other one Jose, and Jose called his partner in crime, Wes. Jose had short dark-hair with a pencil-thin mustache. He was muscular and was 6' tall, probably age 30. Wes was a skinny runt of a kid at 5'9", with reddish-brown hair that was down to his shoulders. He was just a kid at around 19. The crunching of the snow came closer and the voices became louder. The joy that Drew felt 5 minutes ago was now turned into fear. He readied his gun as quietly as he could and braced himself for the worst. "Let's look in here Wes!", Jose ordered. Drew wondered if Jose was the leader of the two. He still didn't understand why Sheila was taken or why he was running for his life. He thought back to what Pastor Ron was saying that first night at church and then he remembered Psalm 27:2, "When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies stumbled and fell". Drew thought, "Would God defeat these thugs? Would I escape this?" He felt a little hope in that verse and wondered what was happening to him. He never once gave God or the Bible a thought until he went to church with Kyle that first night. Aunt Rita was an agnostic and gave no notice to God either. She was bitter because of her brother and sister-in-law being so wasted on Meth, and not taking care of their son all those years. She was also angry at God for that same reason. Drew thought of that at that moment and was sad. He wasn't still quite sure about God, but deep inside wanted his Aunt Rita to have the same experience. He'd hope to tell her someday...if he had another chance.
Just around the corner of the cave, Drew peeked and saw a tall South American man walk in slowly, looking around carefully. Right behind him was the skinny kid with him. Drew swallowed hard. "If we don't find him tonight Jose, Senor Juarez will kill both of us!", the skinny kid piped up. "Shhh!", Jose demanded, not wanting to let Drew know they were near, if he was. Drew thought for a minute. Senor Juarez? Who in the world was Senor Juarez?" Sheila never mentioned any of these three people, Jose, Wes or Senor Juarez. I wish I knew what was going on, he thought to himself. Luckily, where Drew was standing was very dark and no one would be able to see him, even if they walked by him. He only hoped they wouldn't hear him breathe or hear his heart racing. He knew this was it. Either he had to beat them or die right then and there. They were breathing distance from him and he froze. The darkness saved him from certain death, but was also a hindrance to him as well. He realized suddenly that they may have flashlights. If they turned them on, he was surely a goner. He tried to get away from there before they turned on the flashlights, without making one sound. He held the pistol tightly as sweat ran down his face. What was next for him? He made a dash for the opening of the cave. The men were startled and trampled around in the dark. Thankfully for Drew, they didn't think to carry flashlights, since it was broad daylight. Jose and Wes stumbled and fell over each other. Drew was outside the cave and saw them trying to get up and he thought it was ironic, considering the verse in Psalm about the psalmist's enemies stumbling and falling. He got a little chuckle out of it, then he ran for his life.
This part took a little long to publish and I apologize for that. Stay tuned for the next part of the story. I hope you enjoyed it so far...
He stopped for a moment when he heard the two men talking about him again. He noticed them calling each other by their names. He heard one guy call the other one Jose, and Jose called his partner in crime, Wes. Jose had short dark-hair with a pencil-thin mustache. He was muscular and was 6' tall, probably age 30. Wes was a skinny runt of a kid at 5'9", with reddish-brown hair that was down to his shoulders. He was just a kid at around 19. The crunching of the snow came closer and the voices became louder. The joy that Drew felt 5 minutes ago was now turned into fear. He readied his gun as quietly as he could and braced himself for the worst. "Let's look in here Wes!", Jose ordered. Drew wondered if Jose was the leader of the two. He still didn't understand why Sheila was taken or why he was running for his life. He thought back to what Pastor Ron was saying that first night at church and then he remembered Psalm 27:2, "When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies stumbled and fell". Drew thought, "Would God defeat these thugs? Would I escape this?" He felt a little hope in that verse and wondered what was happening to him. He never once gave God or the Bible a thought until he went to church with Kyle that first night. Aunt Rita was an agnostic and gave no notice to God either. She was bitter because of her brother and sister-in-law being so wasted on Meth, and not taking care of their son all those years. She was also angry at God for that same reason. Drew thought of that at that moment and was sad. He wasn't still quite sure about God, but deep inside wanted his Aunt Rita to have the same experience. He'd hope to tell her someday...if he had another chance.
Just around the corner of the cave, Drew peeked and saw a tall South American man walk in slowly, looking around carefully. Right behind him was the skinny kid with him. Drew swallowed hard. "If we don't find him tonight Jose, Senor Juarez will kill both of us!", the skinny kid piped up. "Shhh!", Jose demanded, not wanting to let Drew know they were near, if he was. Drew thought for a minute. Senor Juarez? Who in the world was Senor Juarez?" Sheila never mentioned any of these three people, Jose, Wes or Senor Juarez. I wish I knew what was going on, he thought to himself. Luckily, where Drew was standing was very dark and no one would be able to see him, even if they walked by him. He only hoped they wouldn't hear him breathe or hear his heart racing. He knew this was it. Either he had to beat them or die right then and there. They were breathing distance from him and he froze. The darkness saved him from certain death, but was also a hindrance to him as well. He realized suddenly that they may have flashlights. If they turned them on, he was surely a goner. He tried to get away from there before they turned on the flashlights, without making one sound. He held the pistol tightly as sweat ran down his face. What was next for him? He made a dash for the opening of the cave. The men were startled and trampled around in the dark. Thankfully for Drew, they didn't think to carry flashlights, since it was broad daylight. Jose and Wes stumbled and fell over each other. Drew was outside the cave and saw them trying to get up and he thought it was ironic, considering the verse in Psalm about the psalmist's enemies stumbling and falling. He got a little chuckle out of it, then he ran for his life.
This part took a little long to publish and I apologize for that. Stay tuned for the next part of the story. I hope you enjoyed it so far...
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