Captives of Doubt
This is a continuation of The Train Wreck posted on January 19th
Two figures dressed in black appeared on train tracks.
“Bandits!” Miles grabbed Tanya by the arm and took off down the tracks, dragging her along until her feet caught up with his. A quick glance backward confirmed his fear. They were being chased.
“Faster!” he coaxed Tanya.
“I’m trying.”
“Hurry, they’re gaining on us.”
Miles tried to keep calm, asking himself what options they had. If they kept running down the tracks, they would likely be overtaken. Climbing up the steep canyon was no better. Before he could make up his mind, the situation went from bad to worse. Two more bandits appeared on the tracked ahead.
“What do we do now?” Tanya cried.
“Follow me,” Miles leaped off the tracks and skidded down toward the river, which started a mini avalanche of loose rocks and dust. His momentum carried him straight into the chilly water with a splash. A moment later he heard a second splash as Tanya followed his lead.
Miles swam a few strokes from the bank, where the strong pull of the current carried him downstream. He paused to let his friend catch up.
At first, the gang of bandits avoided jumping into the water, but soon followed their prey.
When Miles reached the far riverbank, he dragged himself out of the water, then turned to help Tanya. With one hand she grabbed Miles, and with the other she swept back a dripping clump of hair from her face.
They paused to catch their breath, but not for long. With the bandits more than halfway across the river they had no time to waste.
“We have to keep moving,” Miles started clawing his way up the canyon wall with Tanya by his side.
At one point, Miles lost his footing and started sliding back down. “Just keep going.” He shouted.
Fear told him not to stop, so he dug into the earth until he came to a stop.
“Just kept moving,” He told himself.
When they reached the canyon rim the bandits weren’t far behind. Miles grabbed the heaviest rock he could lift and hurdled it down on the gang of thugs. The bandits responded with a flurry of threats and curses. Tanya joined in, sending a barrage of stones down onto the bandits. While it bought Miles and Tanya some time, it didn’t stop their pursuers.
“This way,” Miles lead his friend into a grove of tall pines.
“There’s nowhere to hide in here,” Tanya protested.
“Yes, but look.”
The woods opened to an abandoned farmyard.
“They’ll find us if we stay here,” said Tanya.
“Just follow me,” Miles reassured her.
He raced to the farmhouse and threw the front door open. Miles picked his way through the dank, dusty rooms until he found the back door. After coaxing Tanya through, he secured the door.
“This way. They won’t know if we are in the house or not. It will buy us some time.” Miles raced through the backyard and around an old tractor shed.
Tanya follow his lead across a weedy field and into a wood. There, the trees grew thicker. Miles and Tanya stopped to peek out toward the farm.
“I think we’re safe,” said Miles, but he spoke too soon.
A pair of arms clenched him from behind, and another pair grabbed Tanya. Miles struggled to get free, but the grip only tightened.
“We got you now,” hissed the lanky, bearded man that held Miles. “Come with us.”
The bandit pulled him along. The man’s fingers dug deep into Miles bicep. The other thug dragged Tanya. Back at the farmhouse, they were met by a bandit with a warn leather jacket. The man nursed a dark bruise over his eye. “I should teach you a lesson for this.”
“It serves you right for coming after us,” Miles was glad that the shower of rocks had done damage to the goons.
“Watch your mouth, boy, or you’ll be sorry,” Then the man with the black eye gave the order to the others. “Let’s go.”
The bandits led Miles and Tanya along in a direction away from their home. After a tiring hike, they reached the gang’s hideout. A mishmash of fencing and barbed wire surrounded the compound. A teenaged boy guarded the entrance with the help of a sizable German shepherd. The boy held the leash with one hand and opened the steel gate with the other.
Tanya and Miles were paraded past several unfriendly faces to a caged area in the rear of the compound. The chain-linked fencing reminded Miles of a dog kennel, but it was free of canines. The bandits shoved the children in and locked the gate with a padlock.
“You’ll fetch a good price,” said Black-eye with a laugh. Then he turned and led his minions into a warehouse with paint peeling off its cinder block walls.
Miles searched the cage for a gap or weakness but found no way out, even the top was secured with fencing. He and Tanya were left to the mercy of their captors.
Evening turned to night, but no one brought them food or water. Tanya found a place to settle in for the night, but Miles just sat with back against the fence. He had no intentions of sleeping.
“Do you think they are going to sell us?” Tanya thought out loud.
“It sounds like that’s what they have in mind.”
“Who would want us?” Tanya continued.
“I don’t know. I’ve heard of children taken to work as laborers,” Miles suggested.
Around midnight the compound was silent. Miles still sat against the fence. His chin had sunk to his chest as exhaustion forced him to sleep. He was startled awake by something scampering across his legs.
“Ah! Get off me!” Miles kicked and swatted at a pair of rats that had crawled into the cage in search of a midnight meal.
“What’s the matter?” asked Tanya, awakened by the sudden commotion.
“This place is rat infested,” Miles jumped to his feet. He ran to the gate and shook the fence with all his might, but it didn’t budge. The whole situation had worn him down. He buried his face in the sleeve of his jacket so that Tanya wouldn’t hear him cry. But even in the darkness Tanya must have known what he was doing.
She put her arm around her friend, “I’m scared too.”
“What if they take us far away and we never see our families again.”
“Remember, the Holy One tells us not to be afraid. He cares for us no matter what happens.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes, I do.”
Miles dried his eyes with his sleeve, “Maybe we should pray.”
Tanya smiled. “That’s the best idea you’ve had so far.”
The two friends bowed and asked for help and strength. They ended with a request that they would be reunited with their families. Then they waited for daylight.
Miles awoke to the sound of tapping on the fence. In the dim light of dawn, he found a young girl watching him through the fence. She was about five years old with large, blue eyes. Her blond hair flowed down over the shoulders of a clean white shirt.
“Tanya, get up. We have a visitor,” Miles glanced around for the bandits, but the girl was the only one in sight.
“Hello. What’s your name?” Tanya asked.
The girl never changed her mild expression or uttered a word.
“Is your family here?” Tanya continued.
Again, the girl remained silent. She swung a leather bag from her shoulder, reached in and removed a bundle, like a small package wrapped in a cloth napkin. She slid it through the narrow gap under the gate, then turned and ran off into the compound.
Miles unwrapped the package and found two baked rolls and a handful of raw vegetables. He divided the meal with Tanya. It took some effort to gnaw into the hard bread crust. But with a fierce hunger he finished it and started on the vegetables.
Tanya finished her food. “I wonder if…”
“If what?” Miles asked.
“The girl, she looked like she didn’t belong here.”
“I thought the same thing,” said Miles.
“Do you think she was sent by the Holy One to encourage us?”
Miles nodded, “You may be right. With a little food in my stomach, I feel better. Maybe the Holy One will help us out of this mess.”
Then Miles’ attention turned to the warehouse. The door flew open, and out stepped old Black-eye and his goons.
To be Continued.
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Have you ever doubted your faith, the Bible, God’s existence?
Read Mathew 3:13 – 17
In this passage, did John know who Jesus was?
Read Mathew 11:2 – 6
Is this a difficult time in John’s life? Why?
If John already knew who Jesus was, why do you think he sent his disciples to Jesus?
How did Jesus answer John? Do you think John was encouraged? Why or why not?
When are we more likely to doubt, when life is good, or when we face difficulties?
Sadly, John was never released from prison. Can you think of Bible characters who were freed from prison?
Here are three stories of God delivering his children.
Joseph in Genesis 41
Paul and Silas in Acts 16
Peter in Acts 12