The First King Part 5

    The army moved through the hills, the scouts ranging ahead on their donkeys, a moving screen for the army and the eyes and ears of it also. The spearmen were first in the main body, the missile troops in the middle, the swordsmen bringing up the rear. In the center of the army, with a wide ring of open space around them, marched the priests carrying the Ark on poles. Hophni and Phinehas were not one of those carrying the Ark, of course. That work was for lesser men, men of lower station than themselves. They were sons of the High Priest and, as such, were not going to stoop to manual labor.

      About three days' journey from the army, the Philistines were rampaging. They had come upon a survivor from one of the ransacked villages. The man, frightened almost beyond reason, told of the atrocities he had seen.

      "I was coming back to town from the fields when I noticed the smoke. I dropped my tools and ran towards the village. As I drew closer I saw where the smoke was coming from - the houses. I wondered what could have happened to cause this. Then I saw the reason for the smoke. There were men in armor moving around in between the buildings. I crept closer and crouched behind some scrub brush. Peering through the branches, I recognized the armor. These were Philistines. A lot of them."

        "How did you know what their armor looked like?" Nad asked.

      The man looked at him incredulously, "I have fought these dogs before. This is not their first foray. Besides, I recognized their tongue as well."

        Shan spoke then. "What else did you see?"

      The man's shoulders slumped and he choked out the words, hoarse with grief. "There were many bodies on the ground. Most were not moving. I saw one Philistine take his knife and slit a young girl's throat as she writhed on the ground. I saw a group of soldiers gathered around a woman on the ground. She was alive, and they were taking turns with her. When they were done with her, they rammed a spear into her belly and left her pinned to the ground. She did not die quickly. I saw babies slammed into walls. I saw men being bound and thrown into fires. I saw...." His voice caught, then he began to weep.

        Through his sobs he managed to tell us that he had crept around the village until he had found his home. It was destroyed. His wife and daughter were both naked and bloody. Both were dead.

        Nad spoke again. "This is unforgivable." He turned to Ahazi, "We must make double time to catch these men while they are still celebrating their 'victory'. "

        Ahazi, who had been listening quietly, stood silently for a moment. The eyes of the other men turned to him, waiting for his response. Finally, he spoke.

        "Yes, we must move quickly. But we must be careful. There is a good bit of flat ground from here to that village. We must not allow ourselves to be caught away from the hills. The chariots would crush us in the open." He lowered his eyes from the distance and looked each of his men in the eye.

        "Gather your things. We're moving out."

        Joshua spoke up. "Tonight? Our men are weary from marching all day, they need rest."

        "They can rest after we destroy the enemy." Ahazi's voice cracked like a whip. "It is imperative to catch them unaware. There will be no dallying. We will move with all possible speed. Get going. Now."

        Joshua and Nad left then, walking swiftly and calling to their men. Shan looked at his captain. "If we move too fast, we'll risk leaving the Ark vulnerable. And we might walk into a trap."

        "Bah! They don't even know we're around. And as for the Ark, we'll leave some of the swordsmen to guard it if it can't keep up."

      "But, sir.." Shan began imploringly.

        "Enough!" Ahazi roared, kicking over the table, spilling food and drink unto the floor. Some liquid splashed Shan in the face, and he wiped it subconsciously.

        Ahazi crossed the tent and was in his face. "Are you questioning my judgement? Do you think you would do better leading this force? Do you think for a moment that I don't see what you're doing. You're trying to set yourself up to look good if I fail. Spreading your discord, questioning me every time I turn around."

        He was livid. Saliva was spattering Shan in the face, but he was afraid a move to wipe it would be construed as aggressiveness on his part. So he watched as Ahazi paced around, knocking things left and right. The captain had been growing unusually jumpy over the last several days and Shan could not figure out why.

        "And you better not allow the enemy to slip past your men to catch me unaware. If I even suspect foul play, I will have you bound and thrown in a cart. And then castrated. Then you can look like a eunuch as well as act like one."

        Then, as if possessed by a different person, he stopped, looked at Shan and smiled. "I'm sorry, my friend. The stress of this has gotten to me. Bringing along this Ark has put me on edge. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

        Shan moved around the tent, picking up the scattered things and placing them in some semblance of order. While he did, his mind raced. What was going on here?

        Noticing Ahazi staring, he forced a smile and said, "Yes, I forgive you Ahazi. No harm done. Now, I must be going." And he left the tent.

      Ahazi watched him go, feeling that weird mixture of anger and confusion that had plagued him lately. What was wrong with him?