As the young man
ran naked through the seemingly endless field of tall grasses, he could
scarcely feel the wind against his bare brown skin, nor could his eyes clearly
see the dusty golden sky above. The only exceptions were the occasional beams
of sunlight which streamed and trickled their way to the ground. Before him lay
a thickening layer of haze and smoke which seemed to engulf everything around
him. There was something close behind him; he could sense it, and whatever it
was, it closing in for him! But what
manner of evil could it be? He wondered.
The young man stopped suddenly, turning his head slowly from side
to side to hear the falls of feet in the tall grass behind him and the
crunching of the soil; he could sense that something or someone was closing in
on him as he heard the swishing sound of parting grasses behind him. He tossed
his dark hair behind his head and continued running again. He could feel his
young heart pounding harder and harder in his ever tightening chest – until he
couldn’t bear the pain any longer and he fell to the ground in the field of
grass before him.
With his face buried deeply into the grass as to hide all the
light, he could then begin to smell the sweetness of the field, mingled in with
the musty odors of the moist soil beneath. Where
was his pursuer? He wondered. “Just get it over with, why don’t you?” he
muttered, as he covered his head with his hands.
There was no answer. The sound of the footfalls behind him had
stopped. Moments silently passed. He was afraid to lift up his head and look
behind him, in fear of what he might find so he lay there in the field for what
seemed an eternity, waiting for the final strike, the kill – but none came. Run, was his only thought, run!
The young man jumped up
from the where he lay and plowed forward through the grasses once more, the
only sound he could heard now was the sound of his heart pounding again in his
chest. Faster and faster his thin muscular legs carried him forward until he
finally reached a clearing.
He rested a moment to catch his breath, and looked around. As he
turned and looked down at his feet, he noticed the tall grass that was there
before, had disappeared. The ground below him had now hardened into a smooth
onyx black surface. He pressed forward into the fading hazy light.
“Caleb…” called a soft whispering voice, as if from the air and
wind.
He stopped, sniffed, squinted and searched with all his senses –
but nothing! Then as he looked around, he realized his path had led him into a
corridor of sorts, surrounding him in all directions were…cages! Curious, he
moved to the cage that was closest to him and peered inside it. There were
several people tucked away tightly within the cage, and as soon they sensed his
presence, they began reaching and grabbing for him.
“Help us,” a chorus of raspy voices pleaded.
“I, I’m…sorry…I can’t,” stuttered a nervous Caleb. He had turned
to run back the way he had just came when he suddenly saw something – no someone standing ahead of him in the
mist.
“Who’s there?” he shouted. There was no answer. “I know you’re
there, reveal yourself – why do you hide from me?” He squinted in the fading
light to get a better look – it was a shadowy looking thing. All those moans
and groans of those poor souls in their cages haunted him enough, but now to be
followed by this…beast? He turned and ran once again as before, as fast as his
legs could carry him.
“Caleb, help us, please Caleb.” pleaded the groaning voices locked
in their cages. Caleb was determined he was not about to stop, and continued
running even faster. Cages upon cages and moans upon moans, he passed by them
all, wanting to help them, but he knew there was nothing he could do for any of
them. When he reached what looked like an opening – he suddenly stopped.
“Caleb,” called another voice again. It was a different voice this
time – a pleasant sounding voice. “Caleb, we’ve been waiting for you,” said the
pleasant voice.
Caleb turned to see a young dark woman standing behind him. As
beautiful as any he had ever seen in his clan or any of the other clans he had
met in his travels. She had a smooth enticing voice that melted his heart. And
of course those eyes, her eyes that pierced into his soul. Her face and skin,
were as golden brown as the leaves before winter, and her dark flowing hair was
even longer and wavier than his, and although she appeared to be about the same
age as he, there was a sharp cunning in her words.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
She approached closer, as Caleb backed away. “No. But I know you.”
She said. “We’ve been waiting here for you Caleb,” said the young woman as she
stopped her approach.
“Who are you?” he asked. As beautiful as she was – he couldn’t
shake the fear of her.
She smiled at him, attempting to draw Caleb nearer. “We’ve a place
ready for you here, with us, no need to run anymore!” she said, motioning
towards one of the cages. “Come, Caleb,” she continued “You will be safe here!”
Caleb looked and there was a brand new cage, with its door wide
open. Above the door was a steel sign and it had a name inscribed on it, but in
the fading light he couldn’t read clearly what it said. He glanced at her
again, then at the sign, and then he stepped closer to get a better view.
Caleb, of the clan Elgin, said the writing on the sign.
Caleb’s eyes widened and his heart began to pound in his chest
once more. This cage is meant for me,
he realized. The beguiling young woman continued smiling at him and repeating
his name over and over again with her alluring voice, as she moved closer
towards him. Caleb heard another voice, calling his name.
“Caleb, this path is not yours,” said another voice. It was a familiar
voice – without any deception from within. He quickly turned to see where the
voice came from.
It was the outline of a old man hidden in shadows, between the rays
of flickering light. He could not distinctly make out who it was – but felt a
sense of familiarity, as if...he knew this man well. Caleb stepped closer
towards the shadow to get a better look.
“Stephen, is that you?” whispered Caleb hesitantly. “Is this some
kind of trick you’re playing on me?”
“Follow my voice Caleb, I will guide you towards your path.” said
the man in the shadows.
Caleb turned around to look for the young women again, and as he
did; he noticed, that her once pleasing appearance had now changed. The young
girl had transformed somehow; she had been replaced by a horrible looking
creature. And then there came the creature’s voice, which had been alluring and
inviting – but was now deep, commanding and stern.
“No Caleb, your place is here…now!” The beast growled, and stepped
towards him with its hands reaching out to grab onto him. “There will be no
freedom, but that which we decide for you!”
For a moment, Caleb wanted to fight the beast. He wanted to kill
the beast that was both threatening him as well as terrifying him. From the
shadows behind him, he felt a strong hand take hold of his shoulder.
“It’s too early, it’s not time for you now – Run Caleb!” said the older
man’s voice from the shadows. Caleb turned around to the see him but he was
gone. “You must leave now; there will be a time to fight – later!”
As he turned back to face the creature – Something or someone blocked the beasts’ path as it
reached out with a long tenuous arm to grab onto him. Caleb quickly turned and
ran back the way he had came as he heard the most hideous of screams imaginable
coming from behind him…
And then Caleb awoke…
“Caleb, wake up Caleb…you alright?” came the familiar deep voice
of Caleb’s older brother Stephen.
Caleb struggled to open his sleepy eyes and looked up from where
he slept.
“Brother, it’s time to wake up!” insisted Stephen, who was
standing over Caleb’s cot, shaking his shoulders to bring him out of his
apparent nightmare.
Caleb groggily reached his hands up to his forehead to rub away
the sweat. Great, just another dream,
he thought, relieved.
“You okay there little brother?” asked Stephen, lifting his
muscular hands away from Caleb’s shoulders, yet holding them in air, as if he
might be called upon at any moment to continue. “More nightmares, I suppose?”
Caleb nodded.
Stephen, who had recently turned nineteen - was now nearly three
seasons older than Caleb. Being nineteen years of age, meant that he was now
old enough to be considered as one of the adult sons within the Elgin clan.
This consideration, placed a great deal of responsibility on any adult son
within the clan, since the expectation of the elders, was that the adult son
was now duty bound to serve the clan’s needs first, their family’s needs
second.
“The sun’s coming up little brother, and it’s nearly time to start
our work for the day,” commanded Stephen. “Mother’s preparing the morning meal
and it will be ready soon, so lazy bones must get up and move,” ordered his
brother Stephen, who was now squatting down to reach for something under
Caleb’s cot. “Father’s expecting us to help him get the field plowed for
planting,” he said, as he stared at Caleb with his steel blue eyes. Stephen
arose to his feet and stood for a moment continuing to stare at Caleb as if
somehow that might convince Caleb of the urgency of the moment. “He’s expecting
that help today!” barked Stephen. Stephen then turned and left. Standing now
nearly six feet tall, he appeared like one of the storybook giants that Caleb
often enjoyed reading about in his books.
Caleb sat up and rested a moment on his elbows and watched his
brother as he left the tent through the door flap. Caleb often worried about
disappointing his brother, he looked up to him and worked even harder to live
up to his expectations, as well as those of his father, Uriah. Caleb glanced
carefully around at everything within his tent, first his bedroll, next his
linens and then finally at his chest which was covered in beads of sweat. The
sun was now about to come up, and the chill of morning would pass as the tent
would slowly begin to warm up. Caleb gathered his strength and rose up off of
his cot; he stood up as high as possible for a moment, stretching his tall,
brown sinewy body as far as he could, yawning to shake off the grogginess. Then
Caleb moved again, staggering slightly to the changing room at the back of the
tent. These dreams take a lot out of me,
he thought, as he shook his head. Caleb began to change out of his bed linens,
reaching out, he grabbed a towel from off the wash stand and set it down on the
table, immediately tossing his head down into the water bowl, turning it
quickly from side to side to hastily clean up. Caleb reached over and picked up
the towel to dry his face and hair, then changed into his work clothes and
threw on some fresh trousers before heading out of the tent.
“Good morning Caleb, my goodness you look like you’ve had a rough
night,” said Caleb’s mother as she whizzed behind Caleb with a hot pan full of
sizzling bacon and eggs. Caleb caught
himself sniffing the air as she sat the last pan of food on the table for the
morning meal. When she passed by him
again, she reached over and affectionately rubbed her fingers through his long
brown hair as he was sitting down at the table.
The air was still a bit chilly this morning, but Caleb knew it
wouldn’t take long to warm up as the sun climbed higher into the sky. In the
trees around their camp, he could hear the meadowlarks singing cheerfully their
morning songs, as he again caught the smell of the eggs and bacon frying in the
pan. The sounds and smells of spring were all around him now, and Caleb
breathed it in deeply - closing his eyes as he used his senses to help forget
the unpleasant memory of his early morning nightmare.
“Good morning mother,” he mumbled quietly as he opened his eyes
again and reached for a fresh plate and some eating utensils that had been laid
out before him on the table.
“Your brother told me were having another bad dream this morning,
is that true Caleb?” Sarah asked.
“Yes mother, another dream,” he said.
Caleb looked at his mother and rolled his eyes slightly as she
passed behind him. “I saw that Caleb…talk to me about it, tell me about your
dream. Is it the same dream you’ve been having?” she asked inquisitively.
“No, this one was different. I was running away from someone… and
there were cages, and,” he paused, trying to remember every detail, but some
details of this dream he felt, would be better off forgotten. “Well, nothing about
this dream really made much sense,” explained Caleb. Caleb often felt it hard
to explain his dreams to anyone else, with the possible exception of his
mother, but lately he had been keeping his visions secret to even her. Not that
she ever made him feel awkward about it, quite the opposite; when Caleb was
younger, she had always been helpful and supportive of his visions or dreams,
when others would often shun him because of them. But now, Caleb felt it
necessary to start understanding these dreams better himself, rather than
relying on others to help interpret them.
Sarah continued setting the morning meal at the table while
cooking up a fresh batch of butter biscuits in the oven in the middle of camp.
Caleb watched and admired her for how she worked just as hard as many of the
older men in the clan, yet was never one to complain. It was rumored that many
of the other women were as envious of her beauty as much as they were her
strength, but Caleb admired his mother most, for her for her knowledge of books
and stories. His mother Sarah had learned to read as a child and, as some of
the other women were allowed to do, spent her days teaching the other children
to read. She was expected, according to Elder Zachariah, to spend most of the
day teaching the children to read and understand the stories of the bible.
Elder Zachariah and some of the older clan members considered recreational
reading a waste of time. Secretly however, many of the mothers would teach
their sons and daughters to read other books also – in spite of Elder
Zachariah’s rules.
Sarah sat down across the table from him and looked at him
sympathetically. No one else was around yet. “Caleb, I believe God gives us
dreams for a reason, maybe God is trying to tell you something through your
dreams, did you ever stop think about that?” she asked.
Caleb frowned, and grabbed one of the warm butter biscuits from
the center of the table. He savored his biscuit for the moment, thinking to
himself.
“You remember the story of Joseph that we learned about from Elder
Isaac last month don’t you?” Sarah asked.
“Yes mother, I do. But all Joseph ever did was just interpret other’s
dreams,” said Caleb somewhat skeptically, wondering where she was leading the
conversation.
“No Caleb, he did much more than that; if you remember, he also
had dreams of his own,” said Sarah. “It was his dreams that were to prove his
destiny over Egypt, even over Israel. Perhaps, your dreams might one day prove
your destiny as well,” continued Sarah, as she noticed Uriah approaching the
table.
“Alright, what are you two gabbing about now?” asked Uriah as he
sat down at the table, grabbing a plate of food and butter biscuits for
himself. “More dreams from our little dreamer?”
Sarah shot Uriah an expression of mild impatience. “Your son has
been learning his lessons well, and naturally he’s curious about what God’s
purpose for his gift might be,” she explained. “The least you could do, is take
some interest in it!” insisted Sarah, never letting up on her stern gaze
towards Uriah, who seemed oblivious to her gaze.
“You have some gravy ready for these biscuits?” he asked gruffly.
Uriah was a large somewhat husky man, with long dark hair and brown eyes just
like Caleb but with squared muscular shoulders like Stephen. Caleb guessed his
father to be nearly forty one seasons in age. He was one of the elders of the
clan, but not one for spending too much of his extra time reading. Not that his
father didn’t consider it important mind you; it was just that working hard,
plowing, seeding and providing food for the clan – were more important tasks in
his eyes. He regarded reading as a luxury he could ill afford – especially if
it meant that his family or clan might go hungry.
“It is right here, just help yourself and be sure to save enough
for Stephen and the girls.” Sarah retorted, grabbing a hot pan of fresh gravy
and placing it down sternly on the table in front of Uriah, as if to emphasize
the point. Sarah then glanced over to Caleb as she continued, winking at him
with eyes nearly as blue as his brother Stephen’s. “Caleb, you keep listening
to your dreams. I think that God is going to use you for some greater purpose
with those dreams of yours.” Caleb smiled meekly, not wishing to be a part of
any argument, but grateful for his mothers’ encouragement.
“Humph,” voiced Uriah, as he scooped up some of the heated gravy
and poured it over his biscuits, seemingly not taking any offence to Sarah’s
touting.
Caleb looked up keenly at his mother as she spoke to Uriah,
carefully measuring her expressions. Even as brusque as his father Uriah could
often be; Sarah very much loved his father… and he knew that his father loved
her as well. He could see it in their eyes as they looked at each other. It
often seemed as if everything in the
clan had a time and place, even love. Unfortunately, love often fell under the
same rule as most things – only if for
the good of the clan. Caleb hoped that someday, those rules would all
change for him, his family, and the clan.
Stephen walked over and stood next to Caleb, taking some of the
morning meal for himself before finding a place to sit at the table across from
Caleb. He was silent, distant and seemed distracted by other matters.
“I say we leave the study of the holy books to Elder Isaac or
Elder Zachariah, while we concentrate on building up strength in these two boys
– we’ve certainly have plenty of work today,” said Uriah, glancing sternly at
Caleb and Stephen. “I need you two today to help me plow and ready the fields,
so we can plant seed before the rains come.” Uriah looked up at the sky. “Don’t
want to get caught short like we did last season,” said Uriah, finishing his
biscuits and grabbing some of the meat left in the pan and thrusting it onto
his plate.
“Well husband, I think the boys know what you need all too well.
Everyday there’s just more work to do, more plowing, more seeding, more of this
and more of that! When will we ever settle down and find a place to just…
live?” retorted Sarah, as she rose up and took away some of the empty pans and
plates from the table. “I’m going to go wake up the girls and get them their
morning breakfast, while you three plan your day,” sighed Sarah. The clan had
been on the move since shortly after the twins were born, several seasons now.
Sarah couldn’t begin to guess the miles they’ve traveled in that time. But she
was tired of the nomadic life – as were many of the others in the clan. It was
time she thought, to stop and settle
down, but unfortunately that decision would have to be made by their leader,
Elder Zachariah, not her.
Uriah watched her out of the corner of his eye as she took the
plates away. He reached over with one hand and patted and squeezed her gently
on the side as she walked away. “I hope you cooked up some extra for yourself
this morning… You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to eat a little more.”
Sarah turned and caught his eye, with an eyebrow raised.
Uriah winked at her.
“Humph,” voiced Sarah, half smiling.
Uriah waited until she was gone, then turned to his sons and spoke
in a low voice, “We may even start working on building a new barn soon,” said
Uriah, gauging by their reaction, he could tell Stephen and Caleb were
surprised. “And then, when we have the supplies, maybe a house too!”
“You mean that we’re going to…” Stephen started to ask in a loud
voice.
Uriah quickly hushed his son. “Yes, the council discussed this
just a few nights ago. Elder Zachariah and all the men agreed, this is a good
place for us settle down – at least for the time being,” explained Uriah. This
brought subdued cheers from the two brothers.
“That’s good news father… I’ll guess that mother doesn’t know
yet?” asked Stephen.
“Not yet. As a matter of fact, very few in the clan know about it
yet, so you two keep quiet about this...Elder Zachariah is planning to deliver
a special message on the next Sabbath telling everyone the news,” whispered
Uriah. “But you know what this is going to mean don’t you?” he asked, casting a
stern gaze at his two sons. Stephen and Caleb looked at each other quizzically
and shook their heads.
“No more sleeping in tents?” Caleb innocently suggested, bringing
a hushed laugh from his father and brother.
“Well that may be true, but it means there’s more work ahead for
all of us, more planting, cutting wood and trading with the other clans in the
area for any food or materials we might need,” answered Uriah. He finished
chewing his last bite of meat. “This is why we need to start the fields right
away – those early crops will be our main source of trade.”
“Caleb and I will go and get the horses’ ready father,” said
Stephen.
“Good. We’ll start on the north field first, it’ll be the easiest
one to get started,” said Uriah. “I will go and get the seed ready.” Uriah
stood up and backed away from the table letting out a loud belch as he did.
“Your mother…what a cook,” offered a seemingly satisfied Uriah, as he then
turned and left.
Caleb watched carefully as his father walked down the outer trail
and towards the north field. Once Caleb was sure that his father was out of
earshot, he turned back to his brother. “Stephen, can we go out to the cave
this afternoon and look for more books?” Caleb asked.
Stephen shot Caleb a stern
glance. “Be careful what you say, you’ll get us both in trouble.”
Caleb frowned. He had already finished all the books he brought
back from their trip nearly three weeks ago. He and his brother had a few dozen
books between the two of them, and Caleb had his favorites – but he saw several
others in the cave that he was hoping to trade. One particular book he found
recently – especially interested him, it “The Swiss Family Robinson.” He felt a
close kinship with Fritz and Ernest in the story and could see himself as a
cross between the two boys. He would like to bring more books back with him –
but Stephen said that would arouse too much suspicion with Mother. Caleb knew
that eventually they would have to tell her about the cave, but the longer they
put if off, the better.
“We have a lot of work to do this week Caleb. Maybe…if we finish
work early for father before the next Sabbath, I’ll ask his permission to let
us go fishing again,” Stephen suggested. Caleb’s countenance lifted. “Caleb,
you have to understand, we can’t tell anyone about the cave or the books. Not
yet, anyway.” Stephen paused for a second as his thoughts drifted off. “Anyway,
you know we’re not supposed to be spending so much of our free time, reading!
Lucky for you and I that mother enjoys seeing us read all the time!”
Caleb nodded. “Stephen, you saw all the books in there. There must
be hundreds and hundreds, how do you think they all got there?”
“I don’t know Caleb. You remember the stories that Elder Isaac
always tells the children about the people who used to live here long
ago…before the Great Cataclysm…”
Caleb nodded. “You think they put all those books in there?”
“Maybe… I would guess that they were hoping to save them from
being destroyed. But it’s those crates that I especially want to look inside.”
Caleb watched as Stephens’ gaze seemed to drift off for a moment. Stephen
finished his meal and started to leave the table; Caleb reached up and stopped
him first.
“What’s the matter Stephen, something bothering you?” Caleb asked.
Stephen thought for a moment and bent low over the table and spoke
in a quiet voice. “Word is going around that Elder Zachariah and the council
will be calling for a meeting concerning all the eldest sons next month...to
arrange for selection of future wives,” he said, rolling his eyes.
Caleb’s eyes widened. “Does mother know?” Caleb asked.
“I don’t think so.” Stephen said.
“Have you told her about you and Neenah Miller?” Caleb asked.
“No. Not yet. And don’t you dare breathe a word about it to mother
or father either!” Stephen growled and walked swiftly away. The tradition of
selecting future wives had been one of the old traditions that many of the
younger clan members would like to see abolished.
As Caleb began to clear away some of the dishes, his mother
returned with the twins Elaina and Jessica following close behind her to the
table for morning meal.
“It’s okay Caleb; I’ll take care of this mess,” Sarah offered,
motioning for Caleb to follow his brother. “You go ahead and get ready with
Stephen to help your father.”
Elaina and Jessica were barely five seasons old and looked like
mirror images of each other. With their long brown hair tied up behind their
heads and the lightly colored robes they both wore, Caleb could barely
distinguish the two of them. Caleb helped his sister Elaina to the table,
pouring some juice for her to drink. She looked up and smiled at Caleb as he
did this.
“Thank you Caleb, can you play ball with us this morning?” she
asked.
“Sorry Elaina, Stephen and I must help father ready the fields,
maybe... this evening, before sunset...” he offered.
Elaina smiled along with Jessica, who was already helping herself
to some of the biscuits on the table. Caleb smiled, thinking about how
different the two sisters were, just as how much they looked alike.
“Jessica, you hungry little monster!” teased Caleb.
Little Jessica looked up at Caleb and smiled again, and in between
bites of her food, was making a low growling sound.
Meanwhile, Sarah continued tending to the twins for a moment as
she noticed Caleb still standing by the side of the table, fidgeting. She
paused for a moment to look up at Caleb. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
“It was the dream I had this morning,” said Caleb with a hint of
discontentment in his voice.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry – we were about to talk about it
weren’t we... It really bothered you didn’t it? Same dream as you’ve had
before?” she asked.
“No. This one was different. There were people... in cages, and a
beast was chasing me, and it was trying to catch me and put me in one of the
cages too, but... I ran. Then there was also this man telling me to follow him,
follow my path he said.” Caleb paused, “what do you think all that means?” he
asked.
Sarah’s expression changed as she heard him finish telling her
about his dream. Sarah got the girls meal set up and stopped for a moment, with
her hands resting on her hips, she looked Caleb in the eye. “I’m not sure
Caleb...we’ll have to talk about this again tonight after you finish your
work... I’ll think about it today while you are away, okay?”
Caleb nodded, turned and readied himself to join with his brother
Stephen.
Sarah watched as Caleb walked away. “May God go with you my son…”
she softly whispered to herself.
