Chapter 9
The pain radiating up Gideon’s leg made it almost impossible to walk. His pant leg was tight around his knee where it was swollen. He gritted his teeth as he shuffled down the aisles and gathered the disinfectant and bandages along with a bottle of mild painkillers. If he could convince Eric to go to the hospital, he could get the professionals to assess both his body and his mind. But if not, the negative experience should be enough to convince him to move on.
By the time he returned to his dad’s, he had to lean all his weight on the railing to lift his good leg so he could drag the other up the step with the least amount of pressure.
Halfway up, he heard a bark of laugher. It sounded like his dad’s. He grunted, forcing himself to move faster. Sweat had formed on his forehead from the exertion and pain by the time he reached the door, and he nearly fell through as his weight propelled him forward .
Eric was sitting forward in the chair, saying, “And that’s when he fell through the floor.”
Joey laughed again, then noticed Gideon. “You’re back.”
“Everything okay in here?” Gideon said, swinging his gaze across to Eric, who had turned to look at him.
A grunt came from Gideon’s throat, but he couldn’t form any words when he saw that not only was Eric’s face clear of blood, but the bruising and swelling had completely disappeared. Both his eyes were bright and clear.
“Your friend is an interesting fellow,” Joey said. “Why didn’t you introduce us sooner? I haven’t heard stories this good in a long time.”
Gideon ignored his dad and moved closer to Eric, searching for any sign of injury. “How did that happen?”
“How did what happen?” Joey said.
Eric nodded to the bag Gideon still held. “I told you you didn’t need to bother with that stuff.”
Gideon looked at the bag, then back at Eric. “I thought you meant you didn’t want to inconvenience me. How is this possible?”
Eric shrugged. “It’s like I said in the diner. There’s more here than meets the eye.”
“Are you feeling okay, Giddy?” Joey said. “You’re acting weird.”
“Dad, when you woke up, did he have any wounds on his face?”
Joey pulled his chin in. “No. Why would he?”
“Did he show you my note? ”
“What note?”
“Maybe we should have a chat.” Eric stood. “Joey, it’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you.” He held out his hand, and they shook.
“Pleasure’s all mine,” Joey said. “You’re welcome any time.”
Eric patted his pockets like he was looking for keys or glasses, then he looked at Gideon. “Why don’t we take a walk?”
“I—yeah—no—I can’t. My leg is a mess. I need to get some ice on it.”
Eric patted his shoulder as he walked past. “You’ll be fine. Come on. We need to have a good long talk.”
“I thought your leg was getting better?” Joey said.
Gideon shook his head and turned to Eric. “I’m not going down those stairs again. Not yet.”
Eric shrugged. “I’ll be outside waiting.”
Gideon wanted to chase after him and drag him around. He wanted answers, but that would have to wait. Or maybe it was impossible. Eric could decide now was the best time to disappear so he didn’t have to explain.
“Did you hurt your leg again?” Joey said.
“Yeah. Can I borrow your bag of frozen peas? I meant to give it to Eric before I left, but apparently, he didn’t need it.”
“As long as you replace it.”
“Are you serious?”
“You asked to borrow it.”
“Fine then, can I have it? Or—you know what? Never mind. I’ll get you more.” He hobbled toward the kitchen but stopped and looked down at his leg. He carefully leaned onto it, adding pressure when he felt no pain. “What is going on?”
“What?”
He lifted his leg, bending it more and more. Then he jumped. First on two legs, then just his right. “My leg is better.”
“That’s what I said to you before. You haven’t been limping all week. Why’d you start now?”
He whirled around to face his dad. “You don’t understand.”
“I guess not.”
“I have to find Eric.” He raced out the door, thundering down the stairs and barreling out the door, bumping into Eric and nearly knocking him to the ground.
“There you are,” Eric said, brushing himself off.
“My leg’s not hurting anymore.”
“I know. Which way should we go?” Eric looked up and down the street.
“What happened to my leg?”
“Well, there was that fight earlier. It was brutal, but you handled yourself well. Although I think I heard you hurt it in combat originally? ”
“I, uh…sort of.”
“Well then, we know what happened to it.”
“You know what I mean. It’s…healed…or something.”
“Good. Then we can take a walk. I say we go left.” He started off, and Gideon let out an incredulous laugh before following. “Who are you? ”
“Don’t you remember being introduced to me? I remember you. My name’s Eric Cunningham.” He held out his hand like they were meeting again for the first time.
“Can you stop for a second?”
“You’re upset? You didn’t want your leg to be better?”
“Are you an angel?”
“No.”
“Then what are you?”
“A man. Getting older, I might add.”
“But your face.”
“We should walk. Come on.”
Because Eric was more interested in being cryptic than answering questions, Gideon hoped if he went along with it long enough, he’d get information out of him eventually.
Eric took the lead as they turned several times, and when they turned onto the road the church was on, Gideon looked at him sideways. “You do intend on telling me what’s going on, right?”
“Be patient.” He led Gideon to the front of the church and stopped, leaning back so he could study the cross on the roof. “He gave up everything.”
“Who? Jesus?”
Eric nodded solemnly. “Everything and more.”
“I know.”
“And you’ve given your life to him in return.”
“Yes. I haven’t always gotten things right, but?—”
“Bah.” He waved the criticism away. “Everyone thinks God’s so concerned about us getting everything right all the time. Isn’t it exhausting?”
“I’m just trying to?—”
“I know what you’re just trying to do. You’ve risked your life, right?”
“When? In the army? I wouldn’t go that far.”
“You’re a warrior.”
“I definitely wouldn’t say that.”
Eric turned, rested his hands on Gideon’s shoulders, and held his breath for a moment before he said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me.”
“I did. Unfortunately, I think you’ve been misinformed.” Of all the people he had to come clean to about the lies, Eric was not the first. In fact, he wasn’t even on that list.
“About what?” Eric’s smile was innocent and serene.
“I’m not a hero.”
“Who says?”
Gideon turned away, shame warming his cheeks. “ I say.”
“Maybe it’s you who has been misinformed.”
“I only told my dad I was in the special forces to get him to leave me alone. I didn’t want to listen to his derision. But I never meant for it to spread.”
“What’s the truth?”
“That I’m a mechanic. That’s all I was in the army. I fixed vehicles. And this injury wasn’t from combat or even while I was serving. I’ve been working in a workshop outside of Denver. I had an accident. I hurt my leg.”
“And?”
“And that’s it. I’m a nobody. The son of the town drunk whose brother is in prison because he got into a fight in a bar and accidentally killed someone.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, me too. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up for whatever it was you expected from me.”
“No, you misunderstand me. I’m sorry that you feel that way about yourself. That you look at your circumstances as though they have any bearing on who you truly are or what God thinks of you. You are not a nobody, and this town is not nothing.”
“Your face might be healed up, but I think you got a pretty bad knock on your head. You’ve been in this town for a few days now. You know what a mess it’s in.”
“Hah!” He gave Gideon a shove. “You think that only because you’re looking at things wrong. You have to tilt your head a little to the side.” He demonstrated.
“What?”
“To see things differently. You’ve been looking from the wrong angle.”
“What is it I’m supposed to be seeing?”
“I can’t see it for you. You have to experience the wondrous goodness of God for yourself.”
“And if I can’t?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Go with the strength you have, and rescue them. The Lord is sending you!”
“Rescue who?”
“Asher. ”
“You’re saying God wants me to save this town? Me?”
“Yes. Lead them into victory.”
“You must be joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Eric lifted an eyebrow.
Gideon stepped away from him. This guy really was crazy, but he couldn’t ignore his leg or Eric’s face. “I’ll admit something strange is going on that I can’t explain. But I’ll save you a lot of trouble. I’m not the right guy for the job, no matter what you think. No one’s going to listen to a thing I say. Trust me. I don’t even know what I would do or say. Where could I even begin?”
Eric closed in on him and leaned forward, saying quietly, “The Lord will be with you. You will destroy those who oppress this town.”
“I’m supposed to kill Fairfax? You want me to be an assassin now?”
“Our battle is not flesh and blood.”
“Right.” Gideon squeezed his forehead. “This is…this is?—”
“Crazy?”
“Yes. How do I even know you’re really speaking for God and not just some deranged lunatic?”
Eric pressed his hands on his hips, glancing down at Gideon’s leg. “You haven’t seen enough miracles for one day?”
“I know, but…” Gideon walked slowly toward the church, only because he couldn’t stand still any longer. He lifted his eyes to the cross. This was the last thing he’d expected coming back to Asher. If what Eric said wa s true, then he was woefully unprepared for it. And if not…
“It’s a lot to take in.” He turned, but Eric was gone. He swiveled, scanning the yard for a hiding place, but there was nowhere. He ran to the road and looked both ways. “Oh, come on.” He looked up at the sky. “Seriously? My whole life I don’t see one crazy supernatural thing, and then you hit me with all of this out of the blue?” He looked around again. “This can’t be real.” But he knew it was.