Jake opened his eyes and saw the glittering surface of the lake. The water rippled out in big bands toward the banks. Then he remembered skipping the rock out over the water before closing his eyes to take a quick nap in the grass. How long had he been out?
He looked at his watch. He still had thirty minutes before he had to be back to the cabin.
Déjà vu kicked in. Hard.
He had thought about taking that long walk in the woods, but now he remembered there was a man’s deep voice that said—
Jake looked around to see if there was someone standing behind him.
But there wasn’t anyone there. Just the trees.
And the path that led back up to the cabins.
Where did Jericho go?
As Jake turned back to look at the lake, it was still there. Beautiful water.
The camp had returned. The trees rose up around him just like the mighty walls of Jericho had done. Oak Bay had returned just as fast as it had vanished.
Definitely insane.
But everything wasn’t the same. The lake and the trees were the same. The path back to the camp was the same. But something felt different. Jake couldn’t put his finger on it, but something had definitely changed.
By the time he made it back up the path, huddles of boys had formed in front of the cabins. Jake walked over to his cabin and joined his cabin buddies.
“Hey, man. You just made it. Where did you go?”
Jake remembered feeling alone and unwanted. He remembered that none of the boys invited him to play and that’s why he’d decided to go off on his own, down to the lake. And now, this kid had been watching. Had even noticed that Jake walked away on his own.
“The lake.” Jake couldn’t stop thinking about Jericho. “It was amazing!”
The boy gave Jake a look that suggested he thought the lake couldn’t be all that exciting.
Jake just smiled.
The counselors materialized from their respective cabins and made their way to the center of the sea of boys.
One of them held a megaphone and used it to go over the cafeteria rules and behavior expectations. While he was talking, Jake noticed a new camper walking down the path. The boy was pulling a small silver suitcase and looked the same as Jake had felt walking down to the cabin for the first time. Except this kid was all alone. Most likely had said goodbye to his parents up in the main parking lot.
As the kid got closer, Jake saw he had a ribbon tied to the handle of the suitcase.
A red ribbon.
No way.
Jake felt compelled to introduce himself. He approached the boy and smiled.
“I’m Jake.”
“Hi Jake. I’m Darius.”
What? No way.
“What cabin?”
“Thirty-three.”
Of course.
“Come on, that’s my cabin too.”
Jake showed Darius the cabin and told him about the lake. He was dying to tell him about the Jericho adventure, but he knew that would make him sound nuts.
“Jake, thanks for helping.”
“No problem. I was supposed to be here with a friend of mine, but he got sick.”
The other boy laughed. “No way. Me too. Good old Levi.”
What?
“Levi?”
“Yes, my good friend, Levi Lewis. He invited me to come here with him. He came down with the flu or something, and here I am.”
Jake was overwhelmed with anxious feelings.
What do I have to lose if I tell this guy about Jericho?
“Well, Darius, I sure am glad we’re in the same cabin. Maybe this week won’t be so bad after all.”
Darius tossed his suitcase by the last empty bed and looked at Jake. “Yeah, I think so too.”
They went back out and joined the group of boys who were already heading for the cafeteria. Jake’s brain was exploding with memories of the Jericho experience. He decided that he would share it with Darius while they were eating.
“Jake?”
“Yeah?”
Darius stopped walking. He let the boys go into the cafeteria before he talked.
“Jake, I’ve been dying to ask you a question that’s gonna sound bizarre, but I’ve got to ask it.”
Jake felt his anxiety lessen a bit. “Sure.”
“Did the guard at the gate seem weird to you?”
“Yeah! He stared at me as we drove in. A little psycho, if you ask me.”
Darius stood there for a second, staring off into the woods.
Jake was on the verge of telling him about Jericho. What did he have to lose? Even if it freaked Darius out, what did it matter? It wasn’t like he was ever going to see him again after camp ended.
“Yeah,” Darius continued. “He stared at me too. But when my mom was asking him for directions to the cabin, the guy started talking about the Bible story of Jericho. My mom just kept nodding. Then she rolled up her window and drove off.”
“Jericho?”
“You know, the place where the walls fell down. That Jericho.”
Okay, that’s it! I’m talking.
“Darius, can I tell you a story after we eat?”
“Sure. But why don’t you tell me while we’re eating?”
Jake thought about how the story would sound to the other boys who’d be sitting around them. “I think it needs to wait until we’re done and by ourselves.”
“Okay. Let’s go hurry and eat so I can hear your story.”
The boys joined the crowd of campers in the dining hall and went on to enjoy a completely unhealthy but righteous meal of pizza, mashed potatoes, and French fries. Jake had an ounce of self-discipline and added a spoonful of broccoli to the carbohydrate symphony.
After they finished dinner, Jake and Darius went out and stood on a big deck that overlooked the lake. The sun had gone down, and the sky lost its color. The boys stood in silence for a while, looking up at the sea of stars that glittered across the darkness.
Jake finally worked up the courage to tell his new buddy the whole story of his Jericho adventure. When he finished, he looked at Darius to see if he would be shaking his head.
“Jake, that is crazy.”
I shouldn’t have said anything.
“Yeah, you probably think I’m nuts. I don’t know why I told you all that.”
“Dude, don’t worry about it. I’m so relieved.”
“What?”
Jake watched Darius pull the red ribbon that had been on his suitcase out of his pocket. Jake hadn’t seen him take it off the suitcase handle.
“Jake, something crazy is happening, because I have a story to tell you.”
“Shoot.”
“Okay, that guard back at the gate gave my mom two of these ribbons. He said one needed to go on my suitcase and the other was for a friend. I had no idea what that meant, but now I guess you’re supposed to have this.”
Jake took the ribbon. He had no idea what he was supposed to do with it. Tie it to his suitcase too? Surely not. He ran it through his fingers for a moment, trying to figure out what on earth was happening.
The guard at the gate.
Jake had to work up the courage to approach the guy, but at least he might get some answers. He told Darius his plan. “Do you want to come with me?”
“Sure.”
Jake took a deep breath and put the red ribbon in his pocket. “Okay, let’s go.”
The campground had an eerie feeling about it at night. There was no sun to light up the paths. Jake felt braver that Darius was with him.
It took a few minutes to reach the front of the camp, but when they saw the gatehouse, the boys stopped. Flames engulfed the tiny structure. There was no sign of the guard. Sirens wailed. Campers and counselors began to congregate in the parking lot to get a great view of the blaze.
“I guess we’ll have to look for the guard tomorrow,” Darius offered.
“Why wait for tomorrow?”
Jake and Darius turned in unison at the sound and found the guard standing next to them.
“What’s going on?” Jake took the red ribbon out of his pocket and waved it in the guard’s face.
The guard started walking to a cabin that wasn’t far from the front gate. “Police are going with arson. Come on, I’ve got something I want to show you two.”
Inside the cabin, Jake watched the guard’s computer fire up and, after a few keystrokes, display a screen with
The guard said, “Watch this.” He hit a few more keys and then the word changed.
“Electus is a Latin word that means ‘selected’ or ‘chosen.’ And as you can see here”—the guard pointed to the reversed E at the beginning of the word—“both of these make the number—”
“Thirty-three,” Jake interrupted.
“Exactly. That, my friends, is a very special number. But, lest I get ahead of myself, let me show you a few more things.”
Jake and Darius stood behind the man and watched as he clicked on the word ELECTUS. The letters disappeared, and in their places was a list of titles that included The Great Flood, The Ten Plagues, and The Fall of Jericho.
“Jericho!”
“Are you familiar with that story?” the guard asked.
Jake nodded. He wasn’t ready to tell everyone about his adventure, but he was familiar with the Bible story.
Jake watched as the guard clicked on The Fall of Jericho. The screen morphed into a picture of the walled city. It was the same exact view Jake had of Jericho when he first arrived there on the plain.
The cabin door opened. A young man with a camp T-shirt stepped in. “Hey, they need you.”
The guard shrugged. “Coming.” He turned to Jake and Darius. “I’ll be right back. Wait here.”
After he left, Jake was tempted to start clicking buttons on the guy’s computer to get more information. He opted against it, not wanting to get into trouble.
Darius grabbed Jake’s arm. “I think we should leave.”
“Why? This is cool.”
“Look.” He pointed at a giant sword that was propped against the far wall.
Jake couldn’t believe it. All the similarities. But he did agree with Darius. Something wasn’t right about this guy. Both boys hurried out of the door and ran back to their cabin. Cabin 33.
The week flew by, much faster than Jake would have ever guessed it could. Now it was over, and he wasn’t looking forward to going home. There were so many questions without answers. And he’d made a real friend.
As Jake followed Darius up the trail toward the main parking lot, he wondered about the future. Would he be able to experience any other Bible stories? Were there other kids like him who had their own adventures?
In his heart, Jake felt that God had somehow orchestrated the events of the past week to change their relationship. Before camp, Jake felt alone and unnecessary. Now, in some small way, he felt like he belonged.
“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain.”
Jake finally knew the truth. No matter what might happen in life, he finally understood that God’s love for him was as real as the trees that reached up around him. And God wouldn’t be God if He gave love one day and took it away the next.
They made it to the parking lot and stood next to each other, looking for their parents. Darius was the first one to see his mother’s car pull in.
“Okay, Jake. Let’s keep in touch.”
Jake gave his new friend a thumbs-up sign. “You bet!”
As he watched his new friend drive away, Jake was left to his own thoughts. God had been faithful. He loved Jake and had sent him Darius. Not to mention the whole Jericho experience. Feeling alone wasn’t an option anymore.
“He’s not going to keep in touch.”
Jake was pulled out of his reflecting by the sound of a man’s voice.
“You know that, right?”
Jake turned and saw that it was the guard. What was up with this guy?
“How do you know?”
“Dude. This isn’t real. You’re still not getting it, man. It’s all part of the plan.”
Jake started to walk away from the man. He had a weird feeling about him.
“Oh, Jake. You can walk away, but you can’t hide from me.”
Thank goodness, at the same moment, Jake saw his parents’ car pull into the drive. When Jake turned to see if the guard was following him, all he saw were the other campers who were still waiting on rides. The guard had disappeared.
Jake waved at his parents, and they waved back. His dad parked the car and got out to greet Jake. His mom did the same.
“How was your week?” Jake’s dad asked as he grabbed Jake’s suitcase.
“Unreal.”
Jake’s mother gave him a bear hug. “I bet. We missed you. Did you have a good time?”
“I met some new friends. Saw some amazing places. It was wild.”
“I can’t imagine.”
I can.
The Henrys got back in the car and started out of the parking lot. Jake’s dad pulled up to the burned-down gatehouse and stopped before pulling out onto the highway. The guard was there going through the rubble. He turned and waved at Jake’s dad.
The guard’s name tag said KEN NAH.
Unreal.