The walls exploded. Rocks shot past him in all directions. Groaning from somewhere deep within the ground beneath his feet threatened an even worse fate than being pulverized by the collapsing city. The race had finally come to an end. Despite all his hard work and standing up to a very wicked man, the falling city of Jericho was seconds away from ending all of the boy’s hard work.
Just an hour before, twelve-year-old Jake Henry had been racing through the gigantic maze of stone houses and secret passages. He had fought bravely against the evil Ka’nah but didn’t have the power to stand up against the forces of nature that were churning around him now. He managed a final burst of speed, but before he could jump out over a chasm where a house used to be, the ground disappeared from under his feet. He fell backward, down into the darkness of the broken earth.
As he fell, Jake looked up and saw Ka’nah looking out over the chasm. The evil one jumped and kept the sword out in front of his body. Jake could only guess that the villain was laughing.
Jake crashed onto a pile of jagged stones. It was like diving backward into a concrete ocean. Stars of pain and light shot over the backs of his eyelids. Fire shot through his arms and legs. It felt like some invisible monster hand had squeezed his body and busted every bone. Twice. All of these sensations mixed together and brought Jake a great deal of pain. The hurt washed over him like a tidal wave and carried him away from consciousness.
Muted sounds of voices came to Jake through the rubble. The sounds of men seeking their prey. Angry and determined tones grew louder and clearer.
“Here’s another one!”
But that didn’t matter now, because Ka’nah was right above Jake, blade extended, zooming down on him.
Jake shut his eyes and screamed.