31 BC

He crawls through the desert. The blood has dried somewhat by now, but the pain remains. He knows he will not survive.

Alone in the desert, with a broken shinbone, no water and no food. It does not take a genius to realise that the end is near. Benjamin is not proud of having been caught. It could have been avoided if only he had thought things through more carefully, if he had not allowed greed to cloud his judgement.

But he still has his treasure. They failed to find it, even though it was right under their noses. Suspended from a cord around his neck and shoulders is an elongated package wrapped in waxed cloth, approximately forty centimetres long and twenty centimetres in diameter.

The only reason Benjamin keeps going is to find a suitable hiding place for that package. Otherwise, he would have given up long ago. But it must be concealed, and concealed so securely that no one will discover it for centuries.

He knows that this region is riddled with caves and caverns carved into the soft rock by the enormous torrents of water and mud that once swept towards the River Jordan and, from there, into the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea. Nowhere nearby is quite so hostile. To a traveller crossing the desert, all that water must seem irresistible. Many a passer-by has welcomed the sight of it as salvation from the unbearable thirst the desert inflicts. Yet the very first mouthful reveals the terrible truth: the water is undrinkable.

It is salty. Incredibly salty. Saltier than the water of any other sea or ocean. Drinking it will only hasten death and intensify the suffering beyond imagination. It will feel as though something is devouring you from within, as if an entire army of ants were feeding on your insides.

Immediately after Benjamin was attacked on the shores of the Dead Sea, and once his assailants had moved on, he entered the water to wash his wounds. The salt bit into his torn flesh. It felt as though a wolf had sunk its teeth into him. But the wounds must not become infected, he told himself. They had to be cleaned.

And, of course, they became infected anyway, adding yet another layer to his agony.

Benjamin found a stick to use as a crutch. At least it allows him to move, however slowly. Using a few branches and some sisal rope, he fashioned a splint for his broken leg. He had once watched a nomad do the same thing. The man had told him it was the only way to allow the bone to heal.

The splint provides some relief, but whenever his leg or foot strikes anything, a searing bolt of pain shoots through his body and he cries out in agony.

That was several days ago.

Now hunger, and thirst above all, have drained what little strength he had left. He can feel that he will not be able to go much farther.

Just lie down for a moment, he thinks. Rest a little. Recover from this exhausting journey.

He has barely lowered his weary head onto the rocks, turning his face downwards to shield his eyes from the blinding sun, when a faint rumbling suddenly reaches his ears.

He starts and listens intently.

He cannot identify the sound.

Then silence returns.

Not twenty seconds later, it begins again, considerably louder this time. He can also feel a vibration travelling through the ground.

What on earth is happening?

The noise seems to come from somewhere deep beneath him. But that is impossible! He is lying on solid rock. There is nothing beneath him but more solid rock.

Once again, the rumbling ceases, and with it the vibrations.

He rolls onto his back and is astonished to see so many birds circling overhead, making an extraordinary racket.

In fact, there is noise everywhere.

Animals all around him are raising the alarm in whatever way they can. Some roar, others hiss, while still others neigh or howl. The whole of nature seems to have lost its senses.

He sees camels running, snakes writhing and countless other creatures fleeing in every direction, heedless of predators or other dangers. They seem driven beyond reason by the sounds rising from beneath the earth.

Benjamin cannot join their flight.

His injuries are too severe.

Then the rumbling returns.

It swells into a deafening roar, and the earth begins to tremble.

No, not tremble.

It shakes violently.

The terror is so overwhelming that Benjamin wets himself without even realising it. Only when he feels a warm stream running down his legs does he understand what has happened.

The urine reaches one of his wounds and stings so viciously that, for a moment, he even forgets the rumbling.

But not for long.

The earth begins shaking again, so violently that Benjamin is lifted completely off the ground before being slammed back onto it half a second later.

His head strikes the rock with tremendous force. He quickly wraps his arms around it to protect himself.

Another violent jolt.

Once again, Benjamin is hurled upwards.

As he falls back, his arms still clamped tightly around his head, he sees an enormous crack opening in the earth barely three metres in front of him.

Behind him, the ground is being thrust upwards.

He now finds himself lying on a slope that did not exist two minutes earlier.

Slowly, Benjamin begins to slide towards the fractured earth.

As the dust settles, a chasm comes into view.

A chasm stretching as far as his eyes can see.

A chasm so deep that its bottom is invisible.

Benjamin slips a little farther towards the edge.

Towards the abyss.

For that is precisely what it is.

He rolls onto his stomach again and tries to crawl away from the terrible drop.

Inch by inch, he manages to drag himself upwards.

Just another half a body length and he will be back on level ground.

The thought has barely formed in his mind when the earth begins to shudder, tremble and shake once more.

This time, more violently than ever.

Benjamin is flung bodily into the air, turning a complete somersault with a twist before crashing back onto the ground.

The section of earth that had risen behind him has been thrust even higher, making the slope steeper still.

So steep that Benjamin fears he can no longer climb it.

He begins sliding downwards with agonising slowness.

Desperately, he tries to grasp every protrusion in the rock. He presses both arms and his one good leg against the ground with all the strength he can muster, struggling to halt his descent.

Excruciating pain shoots through his left leg, and he feels the makeshift splint slowly being pulled away from it.

It is hopeless.

Benjamin cannot hold on any longer.

Sweat pours down his face. His arms and hands have become bloodied masses, drained of every last ounce of strength.

Benjamin closes his eyes.

And lets go.

He slides farther down, faster now.

He feels his feet slip into empty space.

Inevitably, the rest of his body follows.

He screams as he falls, as loudly as his lungs will allow.

No one hears him.

He strikes the rocks below with a sickening impact, headfirst.

The dull thud leaves no doubt.

Benjamin has not survived.

A shower of boulders, rubble and sand cascades down in front of the hollow in the rock face where his body has landed, sealing him off from the outside world.

Benjamin is dead.

And buried in the same instant.

His treasure is buried with him, for the package still hangs around his neck.

The earth grows quiet once more, holding its secret tightly within.

Benjamin's wish has come true.

He has found the perfect hiding place.

 

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Author's Note

While researching my novel The Qumran Controversy, I discovered why the ancient settlement of Qumran was probably abandoned. A powerful earthquake in 31 BC was most likely responsible.

That discovery inspired me to write this story.