The Moses Legacy - Adam Palmer [132]
Gabrielle screamed in pain and anger, for a second time releasing her grip to clutch her broken nose. Sarit leapt to her feet and they stood there eyeball to eyeball in the shallow water. But Sarit realized that she was now in even greater danger.
Wounded animals are the most vicious.
Despite his best efforts Goliath was slowly gaining the upper hand. Daniel realized that any minute now, Goliath would have him in a hold that would enable him to snap his neck. Desperate to get free, he smashed his elbow into Goliath’s ribcage four or five times in rapid succession.
Already in pain from his gunshot wounds, Goliath’s grip slackened and Daniel was able to push Goliath’s left arm away long enough to duck out of the headlock without breaking his neck. He twisted away sharply and took a stride towards the shroud in the hope of throwing it clear even further, but Goliath twisted round too and dived at him, catching his leg and bringing him down.
Daniel twisted on to his back to free his leg, scooping up the shroud in one hand. But as he retracted his legs and tried to push himself on to his feet, Goliath rose up again and was now poised to dive on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
Meanwhile, Sarit had kept her cool. With Gabrielle clutching her bloody nose, she was momentarily defenceless. Sarit seized upon the opportunity by forming a double-handed grip and delivering a vicious chop to the side of Gabrielle’s head, sending her reeling.
Quick as a flash, Sarit took two awkward strides through the shallow water and jumped on Gabrielle from behind. Her plan was to get the blonde into some kind of full nelson and hold her face down on the ground. Unfortunately Gabrielle was too quick and managed to twist away, tearing her shirt in the process.
Gabrielle had only been momentarily dazed by Sarit’s unexpectedly effective resistance and now, with renewed strength, she charged at Sarit sending the pair of them reeling and tumbling on to the riverbank where they tore and clawed at each other. Eventually superior strength won out and Gabrielle ended up straddling the hapless Sarit.
Then lights appeared to shine at them out of nowhere.
Gabrielle looked up to see a jeep filled with soldiers. They seemed to be amused by the sight of these two women fighting. Then Sarit took the opportunity to reach up and claw at Gabrielle’s eyes. The bigger woman let out a scream and staggered backwards as Sarit leapt to her feet with the last of her strength and pointed to Gabrielle.
‘Hee mehabelet!’ she shouted, meaning, she’s a terrorist. Unsure of what to do, but hearing no words of dispute from the bigger woman, the soldiers ran towards them to separate them. Sarit, struggling to regain her breath and composure, half-turned and pointed to Daniel and Goliath.
A malicious smile graced Goliath’s lips as he prepared to dive on to Daniel, crushing him beneath his weight. But Daniel had one last trick up his sleeve. His hand groped on the ground for the rock that he had seen nearby. Finally he found it and just as Goliath realized what was happening, Daniel’s hand shot out sending the rock smashing into Goliath’s face with a velocity that Daniel did not think possible.
The big man let out a cry of pain that sounded like thunder in the night and then fell backward, unconscious.
Seconds later, Daniel got to his feet, holding the shroud and praying that it had not got damp during the incident. Sarit and two of the soldiers came running over.
Ignoring the potential danger from the shroud, Sarit approached him.
‘You got it wrong, Daniel. It’s supposed to be David who uses a stone to defeat Goliath, not Daniel.’
He smiled.
‘I guess we’ll have to rewrite the Bible.’
Epilogue
A couple of weeks later, on the morning of 19 May, Daniel was in the Old City of Jerusalem at the Western Wall, celebrating Shavuot, the Jewish festival that commemorates Moses receiving the Torah.
There were several congregations there, each with their own rabbi. The Wall was not a synagogue, but a place where individuals or groups could pray. Anyone can