34 |

Unknown Location
South of Aksum, Ethiopia

 

At first, Acton felt nothing. The anticlimactic moment shouldn’t have surprised him. After all, the likelihood of this being the real Ark of the Covenant was infinitesimal. In fact, he wasn’t even convinced there ever was an Ark, and if there was, it certainly didn’t have the power of God at its beck and call.

Then he thought of the priest’s words about having faith and letting go of the scientist within. He closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath as he tried to clear his mind. He believed in God. At least he thought he did. Whether it was the God from the Bible, he wasn’t sure. While many things in the Bible had been proven historically, those were events such as battles or particular leaders being in power. Nothing supernatural or godlike had ever been proven. Those were the types of things that had to be witnessed firsthand.

Yet he had always wondered how, in a time when there was no Internet, little writing, and no forms of modern communication, a man could wander into a town, speak to the people, then leave for the next town, and have his deeds talked about enough that within a few hundred years, the greatest empire the world had ever known had converted to worship him.

Yes, the words might have been inspiring, but they were just words. Give a good speech, move on, people talk about you for a few days, maybe a few weeks, but you’re quickly forgotten.

Heal the blind, the crippled, the diseased, or raise the dead, then move on, people talk about you for the rest of their lives.

He felt a spark.

Something deep down, in his stomach, the unease of anticipation, like the excitement one might feel waiting for a terrifying rollercoaster ride, both excited and nervous at what was to come. The sensation spread, washing over him, his breathing increasing as his entire body tingled.

What’s happening?

It was terrifying, it was exhilarating, it was overwhelming. He didn’t know what was going on, but he had never felt this way before. Was it in his head? Was it something he was creating himself?

Or was it in his soul, delivered to him by God Himself?

And as he imagined what it must have been like for the Israelites thousands of years ago, carrying this holy artifact into battle and witnessing its awesome might, the true power of their god, he could sense the emotions they must have felt, the fear, the awe, the rapturous joy of unbridled faith.

It was too much.

He forced himself to let go and collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving, tears flowing down his cheeks as Laura rushed to his side.

“Are you okay?”

He wasn’t. A pit rapidly formed in his stomach, a wave of nausea surging through him as his heart continued to race. He fell to his side, lying on his back, his vision blurred as Laura leaned over him, her words lost in a fog of disorientation as his heart threatened to give up from the strain.

It’s in your stomach.

He closed his eyes, focusing on that small thread of knowledge as he battled through the panic of what he was certain was a heart attack.

It’s in your stomach, not just your chest.

He drew a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. It wasn’t a heart attack. It was a panic attack, manifesting itself in his stomach, creating a feedback loop that made his brain think he was dying, his heart hammering faster and faster in fear.

But it was all in his head.

He struggled to control his breathing, each breath slightly more governed, and he remembered his training from his stint in the National Guard.

Tactical breathing.

“Just calm down, you’re okay.”

It was Laura, her voice finally breaking through his panic, and he reached out for her, his hand clasped tightly a moment later, an anchor to reality. He continued his slow, rhythmic breathing, counting off the steps in his head, then blew a final breath through pursed lips.

“I’m okay.”

She smiled down at him, wiping the tears off his cheeks. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” He struggled to his feet, brushing himself off, his cheeks flushing as he realized how many had witnessed his embarrassing display. “I’m sorry. I’m, umm, well, not sure what happened there.”

“You experienced the rapture.”

Acton turned to Father Amanuel, the man smiling at him as if a wonderful experience had just been shared. “Is that what you call it?”

Laura clasped his hand to her chest, concern still on her face as he noticed three of her fingers were checking his pulse on his wrist. “What happened?”

“I-I’m not sure. At first, nothing, then I just began to feel things that became overpowering, overwhelming.” He lowered his voice. “It was, I don’t know how else to describe it, but it was spiritual. Religious, I guess? I know that’s not very scientific, but for a moment, it felt like I was experiencing the emotions of those who had carried it into battle thousands of years ago. It was as if I was there.” He shuddered, turning toward the Ark, its gleaming gold now with an aura around it he hadn’t noticed before. Was it in his head? Was he just imagining it?

Or was it real?

Another surge of emotion and adrenaline rushed through him, his entire body tingling with the excitement of the truth he wanted to believe had just been revealed.

“I-I think it’s real!”