The Chronicles of Gan: The Thorn by Daron Fraley

bread
motionless in his hands, and Eli had to get his attention in order
to ask him to share. Pekah apologized.
    All three men fell quiet,
lost in thought. Jonathan reflected on his father’s passing. He
felt guilty for leaving Samuel’s body in the Council Hall, and
wondered if he should have gone back. Surely the Gideonite army did not leave him there, Jonathan reassured himself. He imagined them
taking the body to a hill outside the village walls. He pictured
the familiar green hills and almost smelled the fresh dirt as
shovels turned over the sod. Jonathan’s guilt turned to sorrow as
he realized he would never till the soil at Samuel’s side
again.
    Fighting back tears, his attention turned to
Eli, who chewed his last bite of jerky loudly enough to be heard.
Eli gazed at him expectantly, as if he wanted to talk.
    “Pekah?” Jonathan asked. “Do you mind if Eli
and I excuse ourselves for a moment?”
    Pekah shook his head and said, “No.”
    Jonathan gave him a reassuring smile. “Thank
you. We’ll be back.”
    Jonathan and Eli grabbed their sword belts
and left the fire. They found a suitable place to sit outside of
earshot, but still within sight of the fire-lit camp. The site they
chose was well-lit by the beaming three sister moons.
    Before Jonathan could sit on the log they
found, Eli grabbed Jonathan to himself and embraced him. They
patted each other’s backs firmly, and then clasped forearms. Tears
of joy and sorrow welled in their eyes and dropped onto their
arms.
    Eli released his friend, and both men used
their sleeves to dry their eyes. Then they sat down together under
the moons-light to talk.
     
     

Chapter
7
    Promises
     
    J onathan broke the silence. “My father was slain.”
    Eli exhaled. “I know. I saw him.”
    “You were there? Tell me what you saw!”
    Eli’s face filled with sorrow. Light from
the moons above glistened upon his wet cheeks as tears tumbled from
his green eyes and into his scruffy red beard. Jonathan’s own eyes
blurred as Eli rubbed his eyes dry.
    “I am so sorry, Jonathan,” Eli said with
emotion. “This morning, after a speedy march with a group of eight
other Uzzahite warriors, Tavor and I arrived at Hasor just as the
suns were rising. I had hoped to assist you in your defense.
However, my fears of arriving too late were confirmed as we
approached the village walls. We came down from the north road, and
when the east gate came into view, we found the heavy doors
destroyed. The entire village had been deserted.”
    “I think they were all taken prisoner,”
Jonathan interjected as he wiped his cheeks with the backs of his
hands.
    “I think you’re right,” Eli confirmed. “We
had seen a very large contingent of soldiers escorting a group of
at least two hundred men, women, and children due west toward Saron
the previous evening. We believe they were going to use the Geber
Pass to get to Ain. Our scouts confirmed that Ain was taken just
four days ago.”
    Eli paused and crossed his arms as if to
allow Jonathan time to absorb the new information.
    “Father and I suspected Ain had already been
captured, but we did not know for sure.” Jonathan let out a deep
sigh, then pursed his lips. Confusion replaced his anger. “If you
found the village deserted, how did you get mixed up with the
Gideonite soldiers?”
    “I sent most of my men to check the garden
gate while I took Tavor with me to check out the temple, palace,
and hall. The temple seemed to be undisturbed. Obviously the
Gideonites were not after gold candlesticks that day.”
    Jonathan managed a thin smile at this
somewhat positive news.
    “When I got to the hall, I found your father
in the Council Room.” Eli placed his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder.
“I sent Tavor to call the other men, and then the ten of us carried
him out the broken gates into the olive garden. We found some
shovels in the gardener’s hut. Jonathan, we laid him under your
favorite olive tree.”
    Tears were visible in Eli’s