A Mother's Day Wish

For the nurturers, the dedicated, the brave, the creative and crafty, the faithful, the dreamers and believers - whether or not you've physically borne a child but have poured into another person's life, I wish the happiest of mother's days to you.

#TheSong of Deborah part 14 by #mrfb

  Last time, the great battle for Israel's freedom began. Wild natural events occurred, helping the soldiers but trapping Deborah and Bennoam. Barak stuck to the battle plan, but in so doing, his father's killer Sisera has escaped.

   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.

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.

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. 

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.

#TheSongofDeborah part 13 The Battle Begins

   In writing the battle, I departed from today's choreography for screenplays. Often you see the hero/heroine take increasingly drastic measures until s/he descends to the enemy's level. I couldn't do that with Barak. Why? Barak already won the battle the night before. It is so settled in his mind that he will even forego revenge in order to fulfill God's will.
   Meanwhile, Deborah will have her own battle. She will have to ditch the fear that has haunted her whole life in order to save Bennoam.
   Some may notice that Barak's speech to the men comes out of Moses' instructions for war. Sure, we all loved Aragorn's speech to the men of Gondor and Rohan in Return of the King, but you simply can't top this speech.

EXT. FIELD IN WILDERNESS - VERY EARLY MORNING

The sun, blood red, rises over a sleepy Canaanite camp. Two Canaanite SCOUTS whisper.

   SCOUT 1: Hey, check out the sunrise. What’s that saying? Red sun in the morning?

   SCOUT 2: We’re still in the dry season. It won’t rain for two more months.

   SCOUT 1: Still, I don’t like it.

EXT. KISHON RIVER - MORNING

Hordes of Canaanite SOLDIERS gather at the Kishon River. In orderly fashion, SISERA and his CHARIOTEERS bring their horses to the Kishon to drink, then align their chariots with thousands of Soldiers forming columns behind them.

Sisera moves his chariot into the lead.

EXT. WOODS ON TABOR - CONTINUOUS

Fully risen, the sun is now pale yellow. Wind RUSTLES in the trees. White wisps of clouds unite into thicker, darker columns.

Deborah walks among kneeling Israelite SOLDIERS. She touches each on the head in blessing and prayer.

Barak climbs into a chariot. All the Israelites stand and focus on him.

   BARAK: When you go out to battle today and see horses and chariots and a people more than you, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with you, the same God who brought us out of the land of Egypt.

Hear, O Israel, we approach this day to battle our enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be terrified because of them; for the LORD your God is he that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you!

Barak gestures to encompass the sky and the land before them.

   BARAK: It is He who will fight for us!

The Israelite Soldiers CHEER.

Deborah joins Barak on the chariot. She speaks to him and the Men.

   DEBORAH: Up, for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee?

Barak CALLS OUT, shofars SOUND, the Israelite Soldiers rush downward.

The two ARMIES plunge into battle.

I/E. A CAVE NEAR TABOR - CONTINUOUS

Deborah climbs up the hill to the mouth of the cave.

   DEBORAH: All right, Ben, you can come out.

Bennoam emerges.

   BENNOAM: Thank you. I was getting tired of hiding.

   DEBORAH: You, Ben? Tired of hiding?

   BENNOAM: Yeah. May I watch the battle with you?

   DEBORAH: Only if you will pray with me.

   BENNOAM: Yes, ma’am. Thank you.

He takes her hand and walks with her. They sit on a rock that looks down toward the Kishon and the plain of Jezreel. From there, the war below seems blurred and imaginary.

Time passes.

   BENNOAM: Will Barak be okay?

   DEBORAH: Ben, I want you to finish up your chores in the cave. Let’s have it nice for Barak and the others when they get back.

   BENNOAM: All right. Will you come in with me?

   DEBORAH: In a little while.

   BENNOAM: You don’t like caves, do you?

   DEBORAH: No. But I will get over it.

   BENNOAM: Okay. I will see you in there.

Bennoam goes into the cave. Whistling, he takes a tool and

pitches hay.

Time passes.

   BENNOAM: (to himself) Well, at least this isn’t kitchen duty. How’d they fit all those horses in here?

Bennoam balances the pitchfork against his leg and picks at a blister.

Deep inside the cave, there is a low RUMBLE and CRACKING sound.

Bennoam puts down the pitchfork.

No one to the left.

No one to the right.

   BENNOAM: Hey!

His voice ECHOES briefly.

He takes a torch and heads deeper into the cave.

BENNOAM: Hey! Echo! Echo!

Bennoam’s shadow dances on the wall, disappears.

EXT. A CAVE NEAR TABOR - CONTINUOUS

With Bennoam out of sight, Deborah hugs herself and rubs her eyes to keep the tears from coming.

   DEBORAH: (to herself) Have faith, Deborah. Breathe.

She forces herself to watch the battle.

   DEBORAH: Sovereign LORD, please let Your word be true, Your promises sure. Lead Barak and Lapidoth to victory. Amen.

The ground RUMBLES under Deborah. She jumps to her feet, runs into the cave alone.

   DEBORAH: Ben!

EXT. MONTAGE - CONTINUOUS

1. The wilderness in Edom: the bell on a goat’s neck JINGLES. Other goats look up. Rocks slide and crash.         

2. THUNDER. Rain dots parched soil.

3. Mount Sinai: smoke and an avalanche. Shepherds look up and run.

4. The Plain of Jezreel: the battle rages. Swords pound shields. Hermes clutches at an arrow piercing his chest. He falls.

5. The wilderness in Ephraim: Lapidoth leads MEN, ambushes Jabin’s Men.

7. Rain and hail cut sideways into the faces of Canaanite Soldiers.

8. Barak drives a chariot, briefly turns his face into the rain. Beside him his archer SETH shoots, pierces Canaanite Soldiers.

9. Torrents of rain on Soldiers in ankle deep mud. Feet step over muddied bodies. 

10. North of Tabor: a dry riverbed fills with crashing white water.

INT. A CAVE NEAR TABOR - CONTINUOUS

Deborah raises a torch.

   DEBORAH: Ben?

No one to the left.

No one to the right.

Deborah kicks through the hay. She raises the torch, lowers it. Shadows lengthen and shorten.

   DEBORAH: Ben? Where are you? I – I have another chore for you.

The ground jerks. Deborah cracks her head against a stalactite. She rubs her head. Blood dots her fingertips.

She steadies the torch.

A bit of straw lies before a narrow tunnel.

   DEBORAH: Ben!

EXT. PLAIN OF JEZREEL - CONTINUOUS

The earth shakes. Horses rear and NEIGH. Men fall from horses and chariots. White foam gives way to roiling brown waters, knocking the legs out from under Canaanite FOOTMEN.

The Kishon River surges and widens. Bodies wash downstream. 

A wave knocks out a team of Canaanite horses. Their CHARIOTEER fights to free his horses. The flood pulls him under.

A flaming meteorite tears across the sky. Another and another ROAR through the air and CRASH into the Canaanite army. Hundreds collapse at the concussion.

Sisera’s group is cut off from the main army. He YELLS orders. None respond. He YELLS orders again. The Soldiers regroup.

A TROOP of Zebulun corners Sisera. 

Sisera jumps out of his chariot and flees. 

Barak’s archer SETH points.

   SETH: Barak, look! It’s Sisera!

   BARAK: Where?

Seth puts an arrow to his bow.

   SETH: Drive closer, Barak! I can reach him. The man who killed your father will be ours!

Barak quickly analyzes.

   BARAK: No, we are needed here. Sisera has killed many fathers beside my own. The chariots must be our focus!

Seth shoots at Canaanite Charioteers but keeps looking toward Sisera.

   SETH: But he’s getting away! The coward can be ours!

   BARAK: It is not your call, Seth! We drive on!

Barak drives his chariot ahead, nearly avoiding an enemy chariot. A CANAANITE lunges and grabs Seth. Barak draws his sword and slashes to free him.

Seth collapses to his knees.

CANAANITES close in on Barak. They surround and mount Barak’s horses. Barak fights, throws one to the ground, stabs another.

Seth pulls himself up with bleeding hands. He has no more arrows. He draws his sword, lashes out.

Barak’s chariot jerks wildly as several Canaanites overturn it.

INT. A CAVE NEAR TABOR - CONTINUOUS

Deborah, bleeding and dirty, squeezes through the tunnel.

   DEBORAH: Ben! Where are you?

   BENNOAM (O.S.): (weakly) Judge Deborah?

   DEBORAH: Ben! I’m coming!

   BENNOAM (O.S.): I’m sorry, Deborah. I didn’t mean to wander. I heard this noise.

   DEBORAH: Stay where you are! I’m coming!

On the other side of the wall, rocks block most of Bennoam from view. He lies under rubble. He still holds his torch.

   BENNOAM: Deborah, I’m scared. I can’t move.

   DEBORAH (O.S.): I’m coming, Ben. Can you do me a favor?

   BENNOAM: If I can, ma’am.

   DEBORAH (O.S.): Can you sing to me?
   BENNOAM: What do I sing?
   DEBORAH: Make up a song for me. Please? I need you to sing to me.

Bennoam wipes tears and dirt from his face.

   BENNOAM: Okay. 
   I had a little donkey, but Barak had to go. He said he’d get a horse for me, but now I just don’t know.

Deborah licks sweat off her lip. She inches forward on her hands and knees.

   DEBORAH: That’s good, Ben! I’m almost there!

The earth shakes violently. Deborah drops the torch. It sputters out. Darkness.

Deborah slows her breathing, whispers to herself.

   DEBORAH: LORD God, help us. Please. I can't do this without You.

A shadow on a rock shifts from a flickering light source.

   DEBORAH: Ben, is that your torch? Can you hold it high?

   BENNOAM (O.S.): Yes. How's this?

   DEBORAH: Good. Thank you, Ben. You are really helping me.

The ground surges sideways.

BENNOAM (O.S.): Deborah! Help me! Water’s coming in!