This week, Lapidoth will find Abby's cousin at great cost, Deborah and Bennoam must free themselves from the earthquake, Barak must use everything he knows to survive - and we see that Jael is good with a hammer.
I would say this section is PG-13 for violence, but I first read and marveled at the Bible's account of Sisera when I was far younger than 13. I encourage reader discretion.
EXT. MONTAGE - CONTINUOUS
1. Lapidoth’s Men battle toward Hazor.
2. Perez, Noah, Tamar, Abby and Azubah hold hands, pray.
3. A meteorite strikes Hazor, breaches its wall. Fire.
INT. A CAVE NEAR TABOR - CONTINUOUS
Deborah shoves herself past a rock, tearing the back of her dress and leaving blood on the rock.
Bennoam catches sight of her.
BENNOAM: Deborah!
Deborah lunges forward. Water pours down the wall, eddies about Bennoam’s waist.
DEBORAH: Ben! Are you hurt?
BENNOAM: I’m stuck under these rocks. My foot hurts awful. But I kept the torch dry!
Bennoam waves the torch with his free hand.
DEBORAH: Good work, Ben. Okay, let’s get you out of here.
Keeping her chin above the water, Deborah works the rocks that hold Bennoam.
DEBORAH: Ungh!
The last rock gives way for Deborah. Bennoam pulls himself out from under it. He scrabbles to get above the water.
Deborah lifts his foot to examine it in the torchlight. It is bruised and cut but not broken.
The earth shakes again. Dirt and rocks shower Deborah and Bennoam. The torch sputters, dims.
Water gushes in from a different wall.
BENNOAM: What do we do?
Deborah turns her face from Bennoam. She catches her breath, wipes away tears. She prays.
DEBORAH: LORD God, You made these caves. You alone know how to get us out. Dear God, please save Ben!
Another spray of dirt and rocks fall. A stalactite CRASHES and shatters. Light filters through.
DEBORAH: Thank You, LORD! Thank You!
BENNOAM: How did you do that?
Deborah kneels for Bennoam to climb onto her back.
DEBORAH: God loves to set people free. He just wants us to ask. Okay, climb up. See if you can get through that hole. It looks big enough.
BENNOAM: What about you?
DEBORAH: Once you are safely through, we’ll widen it for me. We’re going to be okay, Ben. We’re going to be okay.
I/E. KING JABIN’S COURT - CONTINUOUS
The meteorite that fell has burned a hole through Hazor's wall, opening the way for Lapidoth, Enoch and his MEN. They burst into Jabin’s court. Instead of a bloody battle, his Ministers allow them in and slay Jabin themselves.
Lapidoth finds Tirzah. He speaks, she nods. He puts his arm around her and races out.
Suddenly, a bleeding Soldier slams a door, barring Lapidoth from Enoch and his Men. The Soldier’s sword drips blood.
SOLDIER: Going somewhere?
Tirzah backs against the wall.
Lapidoth lunges at the Soldier. The Soldier pushes Lapidoth against the wall, crushing with his shield.
Lapidoth’s arm turns purple. He drops his sword.
The Soldier slams his shield into Lapidoth’s face. The blow splits the skin of Lapidoth’s forehead. He wilts to the ground.
The Soldier draws back to finish.
Enoch bursts through the door. The Soldier looks. Lapidoth reaches his sword. Enoch swings a scythe and hamstrings the Soldier.
The Soldier drags down Enoch, pulls a short sword, opens up Enoch’s abdomen.
Tirzah SCREAMS.
Tirzah SCREAMS.
Sword in hand, the Soldier crawls toward Lapidoth.
Lapidoth blinks blood out of his eyes. He rises to his knees. He lunges, stabs downward, kills the Soldier.
TIRZAH: Uncle Enoch!
Weeping, Tirzah cradles Enoch’s head. Enoch grasps her arm.
ENOCH: Go with Lapidoth. He will take you home. Go.
Enoch dies.
EXT. FLOODED KISHON RIVER, JEZREEL - CONTINUOUS
Barak fights hand to hand, sword to sword. Canaanites fall before him. Arrows fly over him. Water churns past his ankles.
The rain continues. The ground RUMBLES.
A wave of raging water knocks Barak off his feet. The current pulls him under, rolls him, pounds him into rocks.
Under the water he grabs a man’s leg. He tries to right himself, only pulls himself deeper. A ghastly bloodless face bobs in the current.
DIANA: (O.S.) There’s really not much to swimming, anyway. Trust the water.
Barak lets go of the corpse. He tumbles in the rushing torrent. Above, greyness! He beats through the water, toward the light.
Gasping, he emerges.
I/E. JAEL’S TENT - CONTINUOUS
Sisera runs, stumbles, falls. Before him stands a small tent. He reaches out and takes hold of one of its ropes. He raises his head. Rain washes streaks through the mud on his face.
He lets go and collapses face down into the mud.
He lets go and collapses face down into the mud.
Jael appears in the tent’s door. She gasps. She lifts his face out of the mud.
JAEL: Sisera? Sisera, what happened?
Sisera is shaking. He speaks weakly.
SISERA: Jael. Help me. Please.
JAEL: Don’t be afraid. They won’t look for you here. Let’s get you out of the rain.
Sisera rises on wobbling legs. He staggers with Jael into her tent. She helps him lie on her sleeping mat. She covers him with a blanket.
SISERA: Give me, please, a little water to drink. I am so thirsty.
Jael opens a skin of milk.
JAEL: Here, Sisera. You need more than water.
SISERA: (hoarsely) Thank you.
Sisera rises to accept the milk, then falls backward as he drinks. Jael supports him. When he finishes, she wipes his face with a cloth.
JAEL: I am making dinner. The soup isn’t ready yet, but how about some fresh bread? I have cheese curds and butter. I’ll be just a minute.
She turns her back to him, gets food. Sisera dozes, wakes.
SISERA: Stand in the door of the tent. If anyone comes and asks, “Is there any man here?” Tell him, “No.”
JAEL: Certainly. Now rest. You are weary.
Sisera closes his eyes. He snores faintly.
Jael steps just outside the tent into the rain. Mud forms around the tent pegs at her feet. She steps on a rope to test the tension. The peg loosens.
Jael steps inside, picks up a hammer. Outside again, she hammers the peg deeper. The peg hits a hidden rock and bounces loose. She falls backward.
The tent sags.
The tent sags.
Jael is muddy up to her elbows. She SWEARS. She pulls up the stake entirely, carries it into the tent.
Sisera is still asleep. She walks softly to him.
Jael holds the peg in her left hand, the hammer in her right. She raises the peg, the point just above his temple. In one smooth motion, she slams the hammer down on the stake, ramming it through his head into the ground underneath.
Blood spurts. Sisera convulses. He lies still.
Jael rises. She pours water into a basin. She washes the mud and blood off her hands. She wets a cloth and wipes blood off her face. She ladles a bowl of broth for herself, sits next to Sisera’s body.
She slurps the broth softly.
The rain beats on the tent.
The rain beats on the tent.
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