Chapter One

The Beginning of Everything

-Shem-

We were crossing what Father said was a tzohar mine when we saw them. There was a caravan and it was surrounded by bodies; dead bodies. The smell was retched and some of them seemed as young as I was.

Mother and Father were talking when we all heard a moan of pain from amongst the bodies. Father and I went to look in different direction, and on the other side of the caravan, propped up against rubble, was a young girl. I ran over to her and called for Mother and Father. Taking the girls hand in mine, I looked her in the eyes and told her she was going to be alright. The girl looked a year or two younger than me, probably seven or eight, and she had long blonde hair and dark eyes.

Mother ran over to us and began to examine the girl as I held her hand. Mother removed the cloth the girl had been covering her belly with and we could see that she had been cut from her left hip to her bellybutton. As Mother cleaned the wound and began to stitch it back together, I tried to keep the girl, Ila she said her name was, calm. Mother had said that she had lost an extreme amount of blood and by the look on her face it did not look like Ila would make it.

Mother had just finished bandaging Ila's wound when Father rushed over and told us to run. I looked over the ridge and saw a band of raiders coming towards us. Ila had passed out so Father scooped her up while I grabbed Ham's hand and began to run. I was tired and my chest had begun to ache but I did not stop running, even when we crossed into the charred land. It was there that Father yelled at me to stop, and when I did he shoved Ila into my arms. She let out a moan of pain but thankfully did not wake up. I ran with her until I caught up to Mother and Ham but then we all came to a stop. Behind Father rose a ginormous rock monster. Ham and I screamed while Mother yelled for Father to warn him but it was too late. The monster had swung one of its many arms and hit Father in the head, knocking him out. Dragging Father by the leg, it grabbed the rest of us with another hand and trapped us in a deep pit where we were to be kept prisoner.

I put Ila down where it seemed soft and went to set up a tent with Ham while Mother checked on Father and fed baby Japheth. Ila let out a cry so Mother and I ran to check on her. She had woken up and was covered in sweat. Mother said she had a fever so I gave her a little water and then took Japheth from Mother so she could change Ila's bloodstained bandages and try to cool her.

It was not long after that that Father woke up. When he did he tried to convince the rock men, Watchers Mother told us, to free us but they would not budge. Night came soon and as scared as I was, exhaustion took over and I fell right to sleep. Not long after I felt someone shaking me and opened my eyes to see Mother standing over me, Japheth slung to her chest.

"Wake up Shem; it is time for us to leave." She said.

I got up sleepy and once we were all packed one of the Watchers picked us up and took us all out of the pit. Once we were out we followed him quickly so we would not be caught. He told us about how the Watchers came down to our world and how they helped Adam and Eve.

It was a long walk, but finally we spotted Grandfather's mountain. Father told us that our great-grandfather, Methuselah, was the oldest man alive and that the creator was sending us to him for help. After camp was set up Father came to me and told me that I was to accompany him up the mountain. Part of me wanted to stay with Ila and make sure she was alright, but Mother told me that her fever had broken and she was doing much better, so I left with Father to climb the mountain and meet Grandfather.

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-Ila-

The pain I felt in my belly was excruciating. I tried to open my eyes but they felt so heavy and my head felt so hot.

"You are alright now Ila." I heard a woman say gently. "You are safe now."

I let out a moan as she unwound my bandages to check on my injury. I kept replaying what happened over and over again in my head. My mother and aunts were cooking, my father and uncles were laughing and my cousins and I were playing when we all heard the shouts. The men went to arm themselves while the women tried to usher us kids into a tent but it was useless, the raiders were already here. They came at us in groups and the last thing I remembered was one of them touching me before he ran is knife across my belly. When I finally came to I could hear voices, a man, a woman, and a young boy. I let out a moan of pain to let them know I was there and within seconds I felt a small hand take mine. I opened my eyes and saw a boy, maybe nine or ten years old, staring at me. He had brown hair and beautiful brown-green eyes. Once his mother came over she began to examine my wound. I could not see it but by the look on her face I could tell it was not good. The boy, Shem his mother said, squeezed my hand comfortingly.

I suppose I had passed out because the next thing I knew I was being thrust into Shem's arms and he began to run. Shem's mother screamed and next thing we all knew we were being thrown into a pit by giant rock monsters. Shem put me down and his mother checked my bandages and gave me some water.

"Who are you?" I asked her hoarsely.

"My name is Naameh." She told me.

"Why help?" I whispered.

"Not all people are bad. My husband and I are not the type to leave a child for dead." She replied. "Close your eyes and try to sleep. Everything will be alright."