People of the Flood (Ark Chronicles 2) by Vaughn Heppner Page A

his shoulder.
    “A net?” Ham asked. “What good is it?”
    “ I’ll show you.”
    Ham mulled over the idea of a net against a wolf . “You’d only have a single cast,” he shouted.
    “ It’s all I’d need.”
    Ham liked the confidence, even if too much sometimes got one in trouble . “I still think you should carry a bow.”
    “ Like Put?”
    “ Exactly.” Of all his children, Put was the best shot, a natural-born archer.
    “ Over there,” Canaan said, trotting to a pool fed by the stream. A natural dam had created the pool. Farther downstream, the river churned as before. Reeds grew along the pool’s muddy bank and into the shallow waters. Canaan kicked off his sandals and shucked off his breeches.
    “ You should keep your clothes on.”
    “ Why is that?” Canaan asked, already wading into the pond, with only his tunic to cover his nakedness.
    If Noah saw Canaan shamelessly stripping down , he’d scowl and launch into a sermon. But how could he explain it to his son so it made sense? Of all his children, Canaan was the least religious.
    “ Watch,” whispered Canaan, lifting the net off his shoulders and slipping a string onto his wrist. With a practiced toss, he threw it over the water. The net was weighted with small stones. It spun and neatly opened and landed on the surface, the stones on the edges pulling it out of sight. Canaan yanked the string attached to his wrist. With both hands, he hauled the net in. Four twisting trout fought for freedom.
    Ham waded into the pond and snatched the net . As they squirmed, the trout opened and closed their gills. “Can you do that again?”
    Canaan ran out of the pond, threw the trout to the ground and waded back in . With squinting eyes, he looked here and there. He flung the net. Moments later, he hauled out three more trout.
    “ That’s amazing,” Ham said.
    Canaan ’s eyes shone.
    “ One more time,” Ham said.
    Before long , they trekked home with ten big trout on a string passed through the gills.
    “ We’re going to show grandfather,” Ham said, taking a fork in the trail.
    “ Noah always yells at me.”
    “ He won’t after he sees how fast you can catch fish. This is a great invention.”
    Canaan laughed, telling his dad how he ’d first gotten the idea.
    It was a long walk , tiring because it was uphill. During it, Ham recalled a conversation with Shem. His brother’s main point was that each of them should pick a direction and head out. Jehovah had said to fill the world. They thus tested the Holy One’s patience by all staying in one general location.
    Ham had several objections to Shem ’s thesis. They needed to stay close so cousins could marry instead of brother and sister. Too, this wasn’t like the Antediluvian World. Back then, hordes of people had kept down the number of predators. Here, animals exploded in population. Shem had pointed out the fear clause given in the Rainbow Promise. Ham said that sometimes fear led to bloodshed. For didn’t a man often kill what he feared? It seemed foolish to scatter amid the numberless hordes of vicious beasts. He’d seen long-horned aurochs and giant-horned elk and wooly mammoths. It was a dangerous world now, what with earthquakes, volcanoes, rain, sleet and snow.
    “ Why is Gomer running?” Canaan asked.
    They trudged upslope toward a wide plateau where they all used to live. Wheat grew on the gentle slopes. In the background rose the snowy heights of Ararat. A stone corral held Noah’s flocks.
    Gomer, a tall man with long red hair, ran from the main tent and uphill to…
    “Can you see that far?” Ham asked.
    Canaan squinted . “He’s running to grandfather coming down the prayer hill.”
    “ Do you see smoke on the altar?” Ham asked.
    “ I think so.”
    Noah still prayed at his hilltop altar, according to Shem , interceding for them. Sometimes, said Shem, Noah had visions of the future.
    “ Why do you think he’s running?” Canaan asked.
    “ How should I