Bruecke to Heaven

Chapter 1: First Contact And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the Lord our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’ - Jeremiah 5:19 The young boy sat on the out-cropping of rocks watching the sheep graze below. The breeze was strong today and washed the rich alpine grass in swathes of motion like waves on an ocean. The air was crisp and cool as it blew his thick black hair into his face. Jakob pushed it aside with his hand as he leaned back on the cool hard granite that made his seat. The sun warmed him as he watched the clouds filter through the pass below and block out the lower reaches of the valley where he and his family had called home for as long as anyone could remember. A sheep bleated softly and somewhere over his shoulder in the direction of the sun, a hawk cried his lonesome wail which echoed off the canyon walls below, making an eerie reply, as if beckoning a foreboding to come. Jakob closed his eyes and tried to refresh his thoughts with a quote of scripture his grandfather had tried to make him memorize that morning at their daily devotional over breakfast. He thought, “And it shall come to pass, when……”. “Hmm“ he thought out loud, “come on Jakob, think”. He closed his eyes again, the hawk cried once more, he thought of the raptor soaring above, closer to God and again he thought, ”And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things” “ …unto….us? “ “ Then shaaa….llt” “ thou answer them, like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall………….” “so shall,………we…..no…ye…...” “Yes, that’s it, ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” “That’s it”, he said, “so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” “From the book of Jeremiah chapter five, verse nineteen,” he said proudly to himself. At that instant the hawk cried again and several sheep bleated as two figures emerged below out of the cloud bank on horseback, like ghosts from a dream. Jakob’s eyes widened at the sudden sight of strangers. He felt hauntingly responsible for calling them into view, as if something he had just said caused them to appear. Their distance from him was great enough that Jakob could run and warn the others if he thought they meant harm. He had been taught since a small child about the special gift he and his brethren possessed. They continually warned him to be on the lookout for outsiders whom might come looking for them in order to try to destroy them for their special gifts. While he watched the riders, he desperately reached for his sling, the only thing available for him to use as a weapon. The strap of leather was aptly made for slinging a rock the size of his fist at a target, with such velocity that it could stun or kill most prey. To a fully armed knight, it was nothing more than a nuisance. Jakob had only used his sling for protection of his grandfather’s flocks from wolves and even once a mountain lion. He knew how to protect himself very well, but in this case, he would be no match. He was unable to defend himself against two grown armed men. So as they drew closer he looked for weaponry or signs of danger and an avenue of escape. He edged slowly and quietly out of their sight as he kept vigil on them. They did not appear to be moving in a threatening manner, rather they were approaching with caution and ambivalence, as if they wanted to be seen and acknowledged. Jakob still kept low, watching for any hint in the change of their mannerisms. As he watched he leaned over and reached for a rock near his feet, just to be safe. Marik rode a fine black stallion his master had given him for the journey. It was a pure bred Arabian, bought in trades his master had made on one of his many journeys to the far western countries of the Persian Empire. As the fine steed stepped in slow cadence, Marik saw the small flock of mountain sheep, seemingly alone without a shepherd, …..but he knew better. Somewhere nearby there would and should be someone that had already spotted them and were either off to either warn the villagers or was close by ready to strike if they felt endangered. He unstrapped the handle of his saber, just to be safe as he cautiously rode up the increasing steep grade of the mountain pass. “Prepare your sword if you haven’t already done so, “ he instructed to his riding companion, who quickly answered ”Already done sir” As they drew closer, Jakob watched. Suddenly he felt a shiver run the length of his spine. His mind rushed back to darkness and pain. He froze.