Eden (27 page)

As we raced faster and farther down
the runway, I imagine the tiny wheels, and how on earth at that
speed the plane didn’t veer off into the grass, or a building. At
that point, everything that could possibly go wrong before we even
got off the ground flashed through my mind, and my heart pounded so
hard against my chest wall that I thought I would die of a heart
attack before we left Providence.

“
Nina,” Jared said in
smooth tone. He leaned into my ear, and his lips brushed against my
skin. He pulled my arm across him, and kissed my neck. I gripped
his shirt, my knuckles white. I was relieved to be in the arms of
my husband, but for all the wrong reasons.

“
I’m afraid,” I said,
stuttering.

“
I know.” He gently held
my jaw with both of his hands, and lowered his chin. His dark blue
eyes met mine. “We’re going to make it. I won’t let anything happen
to you.”

“
Don’t start making
promises you can’t keep, now.”

He kissed me, hard and purposeful.
Once, I could have become lost in a kiss like that, but the wheels
were leaving the ground, and we were now a large and easy
target.

“
Nina, you have to have
faith.”

My eyebrows pulled together. “Someone
is going to have to give me a reason. I’m all out of faith.” The
plane dipped a bit before making a sharp turn.

“
Look at how far we’ve
come,” he said, smiling. He meant to be comforting, but I could see
the fear behind his eyes.

I buried my face in the crook of his
neck, and squeezed him to me. My eyes shut tight, trying to push
away the overwhelming feeling that we had been deceived, corralled
into this deathtrap —the one place Jared couldn’t
control.

The plane righted itself, and then
climbed effortlessly into the night sky. The lights below appeared
to shrink, until they seemed like glowing clusters of fireflies.
Everything else on the ground was black and ominous.

Jared was unfolding a map of the old
city, sprawling it across his lap. He used his finger to trace
different routes to the Sepulchre, then sighed. “I wish we’d had
enough time to send someone ahead. To shape the battle
space.”

I touched his free hand. “I don’t know
what that means, but we’ll figure it out.”

He paused. “I apologize for the
military jargon. I’m just in that mode at the moment.”

“
I understand,” I said.
The stress he suffered was nearly visible. The pressure was
crushing him.

His eyes slowly fell on where my
fingers touched his skin, and then closed. He took a deep,
faltering breath, and exhaled. “I am terrified of losing you. The
routes, the possibility of last minute change of plan, everything
that could possibly go wrong has ran through my mind so many times,
I doubt I’ll ever forget. I love you so much, Nina. I love our
child. The fear of failing you weighs so heavy on my mind, I feel
like I’m going crazy.”

I turned in my seat to face him. My
eyes bore into his, filling with tears fueled by every emotion. “If
I’ve ever believed in you, Jared, it’s now. Whatever happens,
whatever crosses our path, I know you’ll make the right choice.” I
pulled his hand to my round belly. “We both believe in
you.”

“
Claire has spent quite a
bit of time there.” He turned and gestured at her to join
them.

“
We’re setting down in
Ben-Gurion airport,” he said, pointing to the map.

Claire nodded. “It’s about forty-one
kilometers from the center of Jerusalem. We head west here, toward
Nesher, and then take this right, here, to Route
Forty-five-oh-three.”

With his finger, Jared followed the
road, and shook his head. “But this is a main road. Shouldn’t we
try some back roads?”

Claire shrugged. “I say get there,
Jared. We’re going to get the shit kicked out of us on any road we
take.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t make me feel
better.”

Claire raised her brows. “Nina, you
should prepare yourself. Think of every war movie you’ve ever seen
on TV. Loud noises, yelling, guns, and things blowing up around us.
We’re going to be shot at, chased, and running for our lives the
second we touch the tarmac. You’re going to have to listen, stay
focused, and follow orders, or we’re not going to make it. Get
it?”

My head bobbled, trying to process the
war zone she described.

Her eyes left mine to return to the
map. “That tunnel could be a problem. We could detour here,” she
pointed, “and skip across to rejoin the main road here, skipping
the toll.”

“
If we can just get into
the Old City, we’ll be home free. The Sepulchre is just there,”
Jared said. He pushed his lips back and forth with his fingers, a
million decisions flipping through his mind.

They pored over the map,
discussing different roads, buildings, and blind spots. Even though
they were kind enough to speak in English this time, as much as
half of their discussion was lost on me with phrases like
Black Swan, Belay,
and
Schwerpunkt
.

Claire shook her head. “I brought the
new rifle. Ryan and I could stay behind. I could cover
you.”

Jared thought for a moment, but shook
his head. “Too risky. What if you get trapped?”

Claire frowned. “That’s
insulting.”

“
It’s not just you,
Claire. You have two of you to watch out for.”

“
I know that, but
he—”

“
Claire?”

Claire’s shoulders dropped in
resignation.

“
We’re not leaving anyone
behind. We stay together.”

“
Copy that.”

They spent another hour coming up with
Plan Bs, and Cs, and Zs. If something went wrong at this corner, we
would take that alley; duck into that building; cut across that
roof. Areas of concentrated population were to be avoided at all
costs, but the Sepulchre was in the center of the Old City, and a
popular pilgrimage. Our fight wouldn’t end until we were safe
inside the tomb.

I shivered. How anyone could feel safe
in a tomb was beyond me, but it was the one place Hell wouldn’t go.
The book was proof. I turned to see Kim staring at the book in her
hands.

She sensed me looking at her, and her
eyes jumped up. I was immediately embarrassed, but she showed a
glimpse of my friend, letting the corners of her mouth turn up. The
action seemed unnatural for her, and it only lasted a moment before
she was blank-faced and once again staring at the book.

Claire stood and crossed her arms.
“Six hours ‘til arrival. I’m going to ready the
weapons.”

She didn’t get halfway down the aisle
before the plane trembled, and then shook. Jared looked at me, and
then behind him. Claire held onto the tops of two seats on each
side of her.

“
Probably just some choppy
air,” Ryan said.

In that moment the plane bounced
violently, sending objects from the overhead bins the floor. The
lights flickered, and I held my belly with one hand, and gripped
Jared’s arm with the other. Claire’s outline flashed by as she made
her way to the cockpit.

“
Is it turbulence?” I
shouted. The engines whined in a way I’d never hear before, and I
could feel the plane descending rapidly. The plane took another
dive, and then leveled out slightly. “Jared?” I cried.

“
Claire will handle it,”
he said, covering my hand with his.

The cabin went dark, and red emergency
lights cast frightening shadows. After another dip, the emergency
oxygen masks fell from above.

“
Doesn’t that mean we’ve
lost pressure?” I said in a panic.

Jared leaned over to look out the
window, and I did the same. Blackness covered the ground below. No
glowing fireflies, no tiny lines of traffic. We were over ocean,
with no hope of making an emergency landing.

The plane leaned to the left, pushing
me against the window. It was then that I saw it: Moonlight
flickering against the waves below. We were just a few thousand
feet from crashing into the water.

“
Nina!” Jared said,
unbuckling my seat belt. “Come with me. I’m going to open the
emergency exit door, and when I tell you, we’re going to
jump.”

“
What?” I said. “Jump from
the plane? Are you crazy?” I could see real fear in his eyes, and
for the first time, I knew Jared had made a decision out of
desperation.

Claire burst out of the cockpit and
looked Jared, shaking her head.

Jared gripped my hand and pulled me to
my feet. Before I could speak, we were at the emergency exit. Jared
grabbed the lever with both hands, but I stopped him.

“
We need to do this now!”
he yelled.

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“
You can!”

I looked around me to the frightened
faces of Bex, Kim, and Ryan, and then Claire.

“
Why are you just sitting
there?” she cried, “Help us, dammit!”

Jared’s arms tensed against my
strength, but I refused to let him pull the handle.

I closed my eyes, trying to block out
the noise. “Help us,” I whispered. “We need your help.”

Chapter
Seventeen

Departure

The plane trembled like an earthquake.
The engines whined, and the emergency oxygen masks leaned forward
as the plane plummeted toward black water.

Claire shrieked. I was afraid to
opened my eyes, hesitant to see what unimaginable horror had caused
her to scream. I popped one eye open, and then the other. Even in
the dim red light, I could easily make out Claire’s tiny arms
wrapped around a large, dark figure. The lights returned to normal,
and the shaking immediately stopped. The plane leveled out as the
high-pitched cry of the engines quieted to a smooth, low
hum.

Jared stopped trying to open the door,
and he stood, moving slightly when every muscle in his body relaxed
at once.

Bex hopped to his feet. “It’s about
freakin’ time!” he said, slapping the top of the seat in front of
him. After collecting himself, he turned to Kim.

“
You okay?”

Kim’s expression remained blank.
“Why?”

She winked at me, and an
uncontrollable grin stretched across my face. I was beginning to
see traces of my friend again.

Samuel stood at the front of the
aisle, a large, white smile a contrast against his black face. “I
apologize. The best way to describe it is that I had to wade
through some red tape.”

Claire released Samuel and playfully
punched his arm.

Jared raced up the aisle and then
paused. Samuel opened his arms wide, and Jared fell into his chest,
hugging him as well. Samuel laughed, his voice bellowing, filling
every space in the cabin. I didn’t realize that I was still tense
until Ryan spoke into my ear, causing me to jump.

“
He wasn’t on the plane
before, was he?”

I shook my head, smiling.
“Nope.”

A loud popping noise echoed when
Samuel patted Jared on his back. “I can only go as far as the
outskirts of Jerusalem, but I’m going to join you, if you don’t
mind.”

Jared laughed once. “Not at all.” I
joined him at the front of the aisle, wrapping my arms tightly
around him. I sighed. “I admit it. I was scared to
death.”

Jared shook his head. “I was ready to
jump from a crashing airplane with my pregnant wife. I think I win
this one.”

I agreed without pause.
“Touché.”

Samuel walked back and forth along the
aisle for a while. We all watched him quietly, but the fear and
apprehension was gone. When Samuel would pass our seats, Jared
would squeeze my hand. I kept trying to use my new and crude
sensitivities to recognize a dark presence, but I either wasn’t
doing it right, or Samuel had given them a severe enough
warning.

Before long, Jared’s breathing evened
out, and then his fingers relaxed around mine.

I fell asleep soon after. A tiny baby
boy in my arms, swaddled the softest blue cotton, smiling and
content in the shade under our oak tree, saturated my dreams. He
smiled, his bright blue-gray eyes glimmering in the summer sun. His
pinky finger was no longer than my pinky nail, and I kept kissing
his hands over and over, unable to feel his skin against my lips
enough times.

Time passed quickly there. Before the
end of the day, he was a toddler, and then grade-school age. He
didn’t appear older than he was, like Bex always had. He was
perfectly human, and yet flawlessly beautiful like his father. By
the time the shadow under the oak had faded, my son was a man, as
tall and distinguished as Jared. I watched all of this in awe, but
a little sad at the same time. It had gone by too fast. I wanted
more time with him. I wanted to start over. A strange mixture of
pride and sadness surged through me, and I remembered how just a
few hours ago I was pregnant with him.

The shade now a shadow, my son walked
over to me and held out his hand. He looked so much like his
father. “It’s time,” he said with a small smile. My
smile.