Read Online Devil's Island by John Hagee - Free Book Online Page B

“They’re well fed, the soldiers. The perimeter is guarded, but if we could just slip past the sentries, the camp would be virtually empty.” He spoke as if picturing every step of an imaginary assault on the camp. “We could find the mess tent easily enough. It’s probably that large one about a third of the way in. They would never miss whatever we could carry out—”
    â€œYou can’t be serious! There is no way we could make it through all those guards undetected.”
    â€œI have a wife and child who are going to die soon if I don’t bring them something to eat.” Tobias had a wild look in his eyes that alarmed Abraham. “And there is food in that camp.”
    â€œTobias—”
    â€œI know,” he said bitterly. “There’s no way to get to it.” He turned and sighed. “We’d be killed, and then my family would starve for certain.”
    â€œPerhaps we can find another abandoned house with a bit of food hidden away,” Abraham said. “That’s how God blessed us with the corn.”
    They walked the short distance back through the aqueduct and Abraham gave Tobias a hand as they climbed out over the dirt and rubble to the street. As soon as they got their footing on level ground, a group of Zealots rounded the corner and headed their way.
    â€œHave you been outside the walls?” one of them demanded.
    â€œSee if they have food,” commanded another.
    Abraham and Tobias exchanged a brief glance, wondering what to do. The two were unarmed and they had no food, but that didn’t mean the half-dozen ragtag soldiers would let them go.
    â€œRun for it,” Tobias urged.
    Abraham tore down the street as fast as his legs would carry him, with Tobias pounding the pavement right behind him. The Zealots were in hot pursuit, daggers drawn, shouting, “Stop! Traitors!”
    His leg muscles burning with the uncommon exertion, Abraham turned onto a street he recognized and jerked his head backward, still running at full speed. The soldiers were gaining on them.
    â€œLeft!” Tobias shouted, his arms flailing wildly as his short legs tried to match Abraham’s frantic pace.
    Abraham turned left into the alley Tobias had indicated, and a few yards ahead he saw a street. He couldn’t consult Tobias about their route, so he darted in that direction. The footsteps behind him were not quite as thunderous, and Abraham thought that he and Tobias might be able to outrun the rebels. Instinctively, he darted into first one alley and then another one, his feet seeming to know where to carry him.
    He concentrated so hard on finding landmarks that it took him a few moments to notice the footsteps had not followed him after his last turn. Slowing enough to brave a glance backward, he discovered he was alone on the street. Tobias! What happened to Tobias? He was right behind me.
    Abraham heard shouts and the sound of running from the next street over, so he changed direction and followed the noise. But the narrow streets and alleys were like a maze, and no matter how hard he tried or how fast he ran, he could not manage to find Tobias and his pursuers. After a few minutes he could no longer hear them at all, and he slumped against a stone wall, his heart pounding and his chest heaving like a blacksmith’s bellows. Sweat dripped off his face and stained his clothes.
    Perhaps Tobias eluded them , he thought. Tobias knew the Lower City well and might have spotted a hiding place, a narrow passageway he could squeeze into while the soldiers ran past him, unaware. Or perhaps he was talking his way out of the situation this very moment, if they had caught up with him. Tobias was stubborn and feisty and quite persuasive.
    He was being optimistic, he knew, but Abraham did not want to consider the other possibilities. After catching his breath, he began to try to find his way home. For more than an hour Abraham wandered, turning down one