The horse galloped hard beneath her. Powerful muscles exploded, moving the animal and rider rocket-like, away from the predator.
Kai felt as though she were flying across the Egyptian landscape. Her whole body was filled with renewed energy and excitement as the horse carried her toward freedom. After everything she had gone through saving Lily from Horus, racing away and knowing that now she would be saved was a perfect ending to a most epic adventure.
A hundred yards away, two massive walls of water had been pulled back to expose a narrow stretch of dry land. The Red Sea. The freedom path. She could see the last of the Israelites safely reaching the far shore.
Just like the Bible said they did!
Kai kicked her legs, trying to spur the horse on. All she had to do was reach the other side of the water before the walls collapsed.
Behind her, a second horse, mounted by an Egyptian guard, closed the gap. The chase was finally over.
How did he catch up so fast?
Even though Kai had put up an honorable fight, the pharaoh’s warrior was seconds away from catching his human prey. He rode up beside her and grabbed the back of her tunic. Kai tried pushing his arm away, but her horse was moving too fast and the falcon was too strong.
Only a short time before, she had been standing at the edge of the Pi-Hahiroth camp, overlooking the sea.
Her heroic fight and escape meant nothing.
Horus squeezed hard and yanked her body from the fleeing horse.
The guard threw her body down, into the water.
It felt like she had hit dry ground.
Ahead, on the freedom path, Kai focused on the thousands of men and women who were marching on, celebrating their epic escape from captivity. Lily was there. At least something good came from the ordeal.
The force of hitting the water stunned Kai. She lost her bearings. Her body turned numb. The warrior had dismounted and was standing over her. Pure evil poured from his eyes.
The end was here. The only thing Kai could think about was the little girl. At least she was free. Never to be bullied by the wicked man standing over her. Then Kai realized she was still holding on to Naaji’s journal!
The soldier who had been pursuing her since Goshen reached down and yanked Kai to her feet. The man’s free hand moved to slap Kai’s face. She managed to reach out and block the shot with one hand. Anger tightened the man’s grip.
Ahead, the sea of people continued on, moving toward a new reality. A reality that included freedom and experiencing the satisfaction that came from making their own choices. In all their celebrating, Kai’s call for help was drowned out. She was past the point of being saved.
“You were a fool to think you’d escape!”
The words that came from the soldier’s mouth were truth now.
They took on form and entered Kai’s mind like Amenken’s dagger. Kai felt them penetrate her spirit and release the last drops of willpower she’d been holding on to.
The earth made a weird groaning, and then it grew louder and sounded like cars crashing. Metal being twisted and pulled apart and twisted again. It made Kai think of an aluminum can being crushed under the force of a sledgehammer.
Water started shooting off both sides of the walls, back and forth over the path.
She took one last look at the Israelites and saw them vanish as the massive walls of water slammed shut over the narrow path of dry ground.
The sea quickly wrapped Kai up in its waves and carried her away. She saw Horus and the other guard being sucked into the sea’s darkness.
The fight was over.
And so was Kai.