In the weeks leading up to the launch of my novel, We Called Him Yeshua, I’ve been posting the first several chapters. Last week I posted chapter 6. Today I give you the seventh chapter, and from there you can navigate to earlier chapters if you like.

Nathan

– Nathan –

Samuel burst through the door, “Nathan, get up!”

“What?” I rubbed my eyes and stretched as the other three shouldered their way in, tripping over each other and crashing in a jumbled heap onto the floor of my bedroom. “Ssshhh. You’ll wake em up,” I whispered, motioning toward my parents’ room. Outside, sunrise was still about an hour away. The rest of the town was sure to be sleeping. Perfect.

Throwing off my blanket, I looked to Jacob, “Got the ropes?”

“Don’t be foolish,” he shot back. “Let’s get going. We don’t have much time.”

Soon we were running up the road toward the center of town. Well, I wasn’t running. My twisted, crippled legs saw to that. I clung to my woven mat, with each of my friends holding a corner as they ran. Zachery and Josiah led the way. Samuel and Jacob, being taller, held the back corners high, allowing me to sit up.

Soft grey light began seeping into the sky. Two tall stone houses flanked the south road where it entered the square—we headed there. Off narrow alleys intersecting the road, outside stairs led to the upper floors and the rooftop terraces.

Samuel quietly climbed the stairs up one house, Jacob the other. Tying the rope to a pillar on the terrace, Samuel then threw it to Jacob, impatiently waiting on top of the other house. With both ends secure, the middle of the rope sagged down between the two houses.

The sky was growing a light blue as Samuel and Jacob came bounding down the stairs, no longer trying to be quiet. Zachery and Josiah sat me on the rope and made sure I held tight. Soon I was swinging as high as the middle of the second floor, my stomach lurching back and forth. As the sun flashed over the horizon, the townspeople woke to crowing. It wasn’t a rooster.

(read the rest of Chapter 7 on my cjpenn.com website)

Copyright CJ Penn, 2020