The Flood (Part 2)

This story imagines Noah as a horrible human, chosen by G-d to watch the world die as he saves his family and a menagerie. There is graphic violence.

She knew that when he was in this trance-like state he could be that way for hours. She also knew that he lost all awareness of time. He would wake up and feel like only moments had passed.

She was going to take advantage and finally get on the ark. She wanted to see it for herself.

She watched for Naamah to start cooking the large dinner. It was Friday. She should be home but her mother would not question her. Her mother was aware. She knew there would be a granddaughter or a grandson hopefully. But no matter what, the seed was planted. She hoped it would be her daughter's protection; her salvation. What she didn't know was that her daughter was now perched carefully on the ropes that led up to the ark, climbing so slowly, watching for shadows and figures that could stop her. He would be asleep in the field long enough.

Each of her hands found its way above the other, and she climbed so carefully. Like any child, she was nimble enough. Climbing was second nature. But this was very high up. Higher than she'd ever been in any tree. And the winds were already screaming. She listened. She knew it was God's rage, but she had an undertaking. A purpose.

She grabbed the ropes and spun herself to gain some momentum. The leap she was going to take was not for herself. It was a leap for the life of her child that she knew she had created only a few hours ago. She saw her feet go over her head and then she spun back around with as much velocity as she could create. The next thing she felt was pain in her shins as if they were broken because she hit the deck of the boat so hard. But she was alive. And she was on the boat.

Shocked, she saw that the rumors were right. There were animals everywhere. Some of them wandered free, and some of them were in cages. she was bewildered. She had never seen more than an ox or a sheep or a cow or a duck or a little brown bird perched in the leaves of a willow tree.

Suddenly, she heard the footsteps of Noah's daughters coming up into the ark. There was a longboard upon which they walked and carried baskets. They were silent. They were there to feed the animals.

She didn't know where to go because she knew eventually they would see her. She looked around and saw that there was a large pile of rocks, higher than she was tall, and she raced to try to hide behind one of the piles. She assumed the rocks were there to add weight, to balance out the weight of the animals. There were so stones. She knew the flood was coming sooner than anyone thought. The ark was so well prepared.

The daughters fed the animals and never noticed her, at least that's what she thought at the time. They disappeared down the plank. As quietly as they came they were gone.

She had to see these animals. She noiselessly inched along the walls of the ark until she saw the strangeness of all these wild creatures. She was captivated. She saw one that was taller than she was. And he seemed to have a necklace of fur. There were horses that were branded with black and white stripes. And so many birds. Only she started to see that while there were many animals there couldn't have been more than two or three of each kind. If she had a little bit more time to study and a brain in her head, she would have realized there were exactly two of each kind. Male and female. But a noise from behind her startled her.

“I know why you're here, but you need to let go of that thought.” It was Naamah. “If he catches you here he will kill you. In fact I think I might have to kill you myself. But I've never killed anything bigger than a pig, so I don't know if I can.”

She was terrified. She knew couldn't stay, but she also knew she could not leave.

“He'll be home soon. He'll murder you in the spot where you stand.” Naamah lifted her chin and indicated to the plank. “Come over here. Run down this plank. Run straight back to your home. I won't tell him that you're here, but it won't matter. The rains will start before you even get to your house. The flood is upon us. Once he gets back, I know he will tell us tol get to the chambers below.”

She was scared and hesitated.

“Go, whore.” Naamah pointed to the plank. “Run”

“But you don't know. I have his baby. I have his child inside of me.”

“You think that matters? His own son is out in the village. He married wrong. He has a child with a woman who's not one of us. That child is not invited to this ark. That's why our son will most likely die with you and your mother and your entire family. The entire village. Unless he can give up his wife and his family, he will die. Our son. He won’t save his own son. You think he will save you?”

She was shocked to hear this from her, but she wasn't hearing it from Noah. She needed to make her case to him. But Naamah was right. If he caught her on the ark, he would kill her.

There was nothing else for her to say. She took advantage of the opening, and she ran down the plank. She didn't stop running until she got back to her home. She went to the field to see if he was still there. To see if he was still entranced by God.

She ran to the field, but he had already left. She wondered where he went. Into the village? To cause more trouble? To give one last warning? It didn't matter. According to Noah they were all going to die whether they changed their minds or not. It was God's will. Their destruction was as sure as the sun's rise or its setting.

And God knew what he was doing when he chose Noah. Because what kind of human could watch every single person he had ever known die in a horrible flood and float away from them to safety? Only the worst human. Only the most horrible man could do this. God chose his vessel wisely.

As she thought these thoughts, she felt the first drop. It hit her in the eye. A tear. And then the second drop on her forearm. And then the third, and the fourth, and then there was no more counting. It was like the sky turned an ocean upside down. All the rain that had ever rained at any time in the past was raining together. Now.

The dirt of the field quickly turned to mud. Terrified, she ran towards her house. She went inside to find that her mother and father had been slaughtered. Both looked like they had been beaten to pulp. Beaten with a hammer.

She fell to her knees. The water was now pouring through the roof of the house where she had lived with her family for only 14 years. There was no family now. Everyone had been murdered. He had come and wiped them all out before they would be destroyed by the flood. He was angry. He was angry at her.

The water rose quickly. Soon it felt like an ocean. Her feet could barely touch the ground. In moments, she would be underwater. She would soon be dead.

That's when the ark appeared. It was floating down the center of the village. Almost as if to mock the people who are now screaming and drowning and dying. People tried to throw themselves at the ark. People were trying to climb up the sides of the ark, but then she looked up and she saw him.

He saw her.

He lifted something above his head and she realized what the rocks were for. They weren't there to help weigh down the boat. They were there to beat the people away from the ark who were trying to climb up it. All of Noah's children, even the one son who had married improperly, were throwing rocks at the people down below. When Noah saw her, she screamed at him. The first word she'd ever said to him. “I have your baby. Your child is inside me. Please save me. Please deliver me wherever it is you are going!” But Noah just stared at her. He wasn't going to help her. He wasn't going to help anyone. He took one last look at her before he hurled thenlarge rock right at her head.

As she was dying, she said a prayer. A prayer for her child. A prayer for the Earth that was about to be stifled. She even prayed for him. Of course she did. She loved him. He was right. God told him to build the ark and let everyone die. He was right. He was always right.