Michael had a hard time with making friends. He had been used to bullying his way through elementary school and was more than willing to bully his way through the High School years, too. Yet life had taught him a hard lesson. His father had been right. The consequences of his actions were going to hold him accountable…and they did.
His mother had died in a horrible car accident. If he had gone, he would have died and she would have lived. She died in his place.
Jim Barnes had committed suicide. Michael was just as guilty of his death as if he had hung the older kid himself. It didn’t matter if Jim’s father had screamed angrily at him and berated him when the police had brought him home.
All Michael knew was he had to do something. His grandmother drove him over to Jim Barnes house and Michael went up to the door to ring the bell. The door opened before he could ring it.
Jim’s father opened the door. He was unkempt and reeked of alcohol. “Get off of my property!” he snapped.
“Mr. Barnes…” Michael began, standing his ground. For a thirteen year old, he was prepared to take responsibility even if he was scared. “I have to tell you what happened.”
“Go away! I don’t care what happened.”
“Your son…”
“My son is dead.”
“He went to a party. I…I told him to bring the beer.”
Mr. Barnes glared at him. “You…” He took a deep breath and pushed open the screen door, stepping out onto the front step. “You’re telling me, boy, that you…you were with him?”
Michael stepped back, nodding his head. “Yes, sir.”
Michael had asked his grandmother to stay in the car, but she was out of it now. Respecting the young boy’s wish, she remained by the car. If she had to, she would be there by his side if he needed her.
“My son told me…He told me he was alone.” He glared at him. Then, he glanced over at the woman waiting beside the car. She looked at him with a look that told him not to make matters any worse than they already were and sometimes a simple look just said it all. He let out an angry sigh and backed up to the screen door. “Get off my property, boy…and don’t you ever show your face around here again!” He went inside and slammed the door.
Michael went home. Home was with his grandparents because his father couldn’t bring himself to look at him without thinking about Naomi. Ruth was Michael’s grandmother and she loved him. She intended to do everything she could to help him live a life a growing teenage boy should live.
Several weekends after the funeral, Michael had been taken to Albert’s house but for some reason he could never gather the courage to knock on his door. Ruth knew it was because of the guilt he was feeling. He most likely felt like Albert would want nothing to do with the likes of him. Ruth, however, didn’t believe Albert would be like that.
So Ruth took matters into her own hands.
The seventh grade had been slow going for Michael. None of those who were once in the Four Horsemen spoke to him, nor he to them. They each seemed to avoid each other like the plague. Michael and Albert had a few classes together and gym, but they didn’t talk to each other either. Michael wanted to, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
One Friday afternoon after school, Ruth left the house to pick up a pizza for supper. Michael wanted to know why it wasn’t being delivered and she simply told him she wanted to pick something else up. Michael stayed with his grandfather until Ruth returned with a pizza…and Albert.
“Hey,” Albert said, waving.
“Hey,” Michael responded, glancing at his grandmother.
“Why don’t you take your pizza into the other room?” Ruth encouraged. “You can watch movies your Grandpa picked up for you or play the Risk Boardgame. Go on, you two.”
What else could they do? Teenage boys loved pizza, Pepsi and movies and boardgames. So they went in the living room and got comfortable. For a while, they ate and played, talking about school, the game they were playing or what they liked to do.
It was during a quiet moment when Michael said, “Why did you come here?”
Albert paused. “Your grandmother bribed me with pizza.”
Michael looked at him. “I mean, really. I had Sean stab your milk.”
He shrugged. “I bought another one.”
“Dude, come on. I was pushing you around. And I killed a guy.”
“You didn’t kill him. He killed himself.”
Michael shook his head. “Me and the other guys…we played a bad joke on him and he went home and hung himself. If we hadn’t of pulled that joke, he would be alive today.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
Albert shook his head. “He hung himself because his parents didn’t care about him the way my dad cares about me and…and the way your grandparents care about you. Jim Barnes might have done it eventually because…” He paused. “…he didn’t ask anyone for help.”
Michael frowned. “He wanted to be my friend. I wasn’t helping him. I was making fun of him.”
Albert looked at him. “And you’re going to hang onto it for the rest of your life, aren’t you?”
Michael didn’t answer the question. “My father and sister don’t talk to me any more. My little brother told me I was going to Hell before for being a liar. Now I’m going to Hell because I’m a murderer.”
“Isn’t that in the Bible?”
Michael nodded. “Yep.”
“Do you know how it goes?”
“Well…I got the quote down and…I know it’s in the last book of the Bible. Revelations. Scott quoted it to me often enough, so yeah, I know it.” He paused. “‘He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.’ 1”
Albert whistled. “That’s heavy.”
“Yeah. Well, I’m at least two of those things so I know where I’m going.”
“I don’t believe you have to go there.”
Michael frowned. “How do you figure?”
“If God made a place like that, I’m sure He must have had to make a way for people to escape it.” He paused. “Right?”
“Maybe for some…but not for me.” Michael looked at him. “Why are you here?”
Albert paused. “‘Cause you need a friend.”
“Well…thanks for coming to my mom’s funeral. That was real swell of you.”
“Sure. I know what it’s like.”
Michael looked at him. “What what’s like?”
“Losing a mom.”
“You lost your mom, too?”
Albert nodded.
“Car accident?”
He shook his head. “MS.”
“Oh.” Michael paused. “When did she die?”
“Two years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” Albert paused. “So…are we gonna be friends or not?”
Michael pretended to give it some thought. “I don’t know. Being a friend of mine could get you into trouble.”
He shrugged it off. “No problem. You get us into trouble. I’ll get us out.”
“Okay. I can handle that.”
“Let’s make an oath. An unbreakable oath of best friends for life.”
Michael agreed and the two new friends shook on it.
Lenox was not Jonah, but he was familiar with the story of Jonah according to the Bible. Jonah was a man who was running from God because God wanted him to tell the people of Nineveh to repent. Jonah hated the people of Nineveh so he tried to run from God. God caught him in the belly of a whale, changed his mind and had the whale spit him out. Jonah told the people to repent and they did and then…he pouted about it.
Lenox wasn’t like Jonah, but he was running from God. He didn’t want God to save him because he knew he was guilty and couldn’t even forgive himself.
So in the dream, he was standing on the deck of the ship as the storm assailed them with a fury. Lenox held onto the railing as he glared out at the rocky sea. The ship’s captain was asking him what they should do.
Lenox knew what he had to do.
He was an angry man. There was much he had to do before he ever reached the point where he would call on God to save him. He was going to fight with everything he had. In fighting, he would doom himself of misery and heartache for the next three years. He didn’t know that, but that’s what he was doing.
Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days.
Lenox would be in the belly of the whale for three years.
“What do we do?” the ship’s captain cried.
“Nothing,” Lenox growled as he pulled himself up onto the railing.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
“I’m going to look for a whale.”
Before he could be stopped, Lenox dove into the angry sea.
1 - Revelation 21:7 - 8
“Why are you running?
I am not chasing you.
I am waiting for you.”
*******
Episode # 5 - The Sifting
Barrington struggles with his faith,
King must be taken to a safe shelter or risk being recognized
and a new arrival promises to make things difficult for Director Fuller.
Throughout all of this, Lenox is MIA.
Coming Soon!
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