Chapter 4: Part 2

“You mean the place you were talking about earlier?” Mishael chimes in with food in his mouth. “But I thought that it was fictional?”

“Yes, that place, and well, it might not be, but it’s worth looking into anyway. This was my father’s Book of Light. He wrote about his life and as much information as he knew about the Light Keepers.”

“Did he write down the location of where the New Promised Land is?” Noah responded

“Well, yes and no, in order for the New Promised Land to stay safe, he left some clues about where to find it.”

“Wait, how did your dad know so much about the Light Keepers?” The realization in her eyes began to hit. “Wait, your dad was a Light Keeper, wasn’t he? Does that mean you’re one too?”

“I was a long time ago, not anymore.”

“Why not? What’s so wrong with believing in The Great Light?”

“Well, nothing, honestly, we don’t have time to get into my past now, Noah, let’s stay focused.” I flip through the pages until I reach the one I’m looking for. Ah, there it is. I open the story of how the first Light Keepers made it to their Promised Land. They were led by the First Prophet into a land flowing with milk and honey and were able to find peace in their world of chaos. I read the story out loud to Noah and Mishael, and we were able to find the keyword emphasized in the story. Water. Water? We’re in the middle of a desert. Where are we supposed to find water? 

“Water is the keyword?” Mishael says. “But we’re in a desert.”

“My thoughts exactly.” I said, “ I'm not sure where we’re supposed to find a large body of water either.” The looks of the children gave an air of disappointment as they realized the scope of our situation. “Don’t fret, I know of a small peaceful village around here. Maybe they have a map of this area where we can find this large body of water. And while we’re at it, maybe we can find a place to bathe there too.”

“Jasper, how can we trust your dad?” Noah responded.

“Well, the words my father wrote down were passed down from his father, and his father’s father. The words go all the way down to a tradition found from Light Keepers of centuries past, when they received the prophecy of a New Promised Land that the Great Light wanted to lead them to.” I could tell from the looks they were giving me that this information was going way over their heads. “Never mind all of that, at the very least, we can’t go back to the City of Modus, so we might as well take a leap of faith.”

Once the children finished eating, I packed up the supplies and grabbed our stuff. We walked outside the cave and started heading south using the location of the sun. By the time evening had come, I could see a huge gash deep inside the earth. It was the Rainbow Canyon. We got to the crest of the canyon and looked down at the beautiful sight. It was breathtaking. The way the evening sun hit the multicolored rocks gave a sense of awe and wonder. 

“All right, let’s camp here, then tomorrow we will cross through the canyon.” We set down our supplies and set up camp. After that, I made sure the kids went to sleep and lay down to rest.

The next morning, we broke camp and headed into the canyon. The awe and wonder found in the kid’s eyes could be seen from a mile away. I could tell they were enjoying the sights. A smile crept along my face as we kept walking. Voices carried over the canyon walls. I turned to the children and put my finger to my lips.

“Stay close to me,” I whispered. We crept along the canyon wall as we made it to an intersection. To our left, there seemed to be a hollowed-out area big enough to be a hideout. I looked around and could see a group of people crouching down. It looked like they were eating. Immediately, one of the men turned around, and I could see what looked like a human foot. I gasped, but not before I got the attention of the group.

“Quick! I need you two to run and hide behind the pillars. Noah, when I give you the signal, I need you to run out and distract them for me, ok? Mishael, I need you to keep lookout just in case there are more of these guys. Got it?” They each nod their head.

The children run and hide behind a few pillars behind me. I moved forward and hid behind a pillar that blocked the view of the cannibals from seeing me. The two cannibals walked out into the open to check for the spot where they last saw me. I look over to Noah, and I nod my head. She got the message. Timidly, she steps out from behind her pillar. The two men see her and start walking towards her. I creep around behind the two men and pull out my bow staff. Noah is stepping back, trying her best not to get caught.

I draw back my arms and swing my staff like a baseball bat on the head of one of them. The man instantly crumbles down unconscious. The other to my left notices me and is stunned. Quickly recovering from his shock, he throws a right hook, but I dodge it, whacking him in the side with my staff. He staggers a little from the pain, but I don’t waste time. With a crack, I bring the bow staff back down on the back of his head, and he crumbles to the ground unconscious.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey, you two ok?

“Yeah, we’re good,” Noah says. I turned to look at Noah and Meesh and could tell they were a little shaken up.

“Hey, you guys, it's gonna be ok,” I say as I walk up to them. I take them both in and embrace them as they melt into my warmth. “It's ok, we’re gonna be ok.”

“That was really scary.”

“Yeah, I know, but the men are down now, so they won't be getting us anytime soon. Alright, come on, let's go before more people show up.” I say. I grab the journal. A loud whistling noise came jarring through the canyon walls. Immediately, my stomach dropped. I knew that whistle. It was the same whistle I would hear inside the compound when they found a runaway slave. Without looking back, I yell, “RUN!” I immediately take off. I look back and see Commander Kira and her squad chasing us.

“Come on, don’t stop.” We bob in and out of the pillars, hoping to throw off their chase. I look over to my left and see a crevice that we could fit in. I head over and shove the children through the crevice. Then I step inside with them.