The Runaway

By Rachel Dib

“So why Tarshish?”

The man’s shoulders tensed, but he continued counting out the coins for my fare. Finally, he shrugged. “I hear it’s nice this time of year.”

 “Right.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Tarshish, nice? Either the man was greatly misinformed—no one went to Tarshish on holiday—or he was up to something. I suspected the latter.  Normally that wouldn’t bother me. People were entitled to their secrets—the gods knew I had enough of them. This man, though, was a little too twitchy to be hiding something mundane, like a second family or a gambling debt. Which meant he hid something way worse.

Just how bad is his secret?

I glanced at my crew, still readying the ship for departure. Most of them had families to support. They didn’t need any trouble.

The man cleared his throat. “Honestly, I just want to get away for a bit. If you can believe it, my God wants me to go to Nineveh.”

When I lifted a disbelieving brow, he let out a strangled laugh. “I know, right? I mean Nineveh of all places.” His features grew suddenly serious, his gaze distant. “But that’s what he commanded. ‘Jonah, go to Nineveh.’”

I eyed the man skeptically. I’d never heard of a god sending someone anywhere before. Usually, gods weren’t that specific. Well, except for that Israelite god. He was rumored to demand very specific things. Best not to test him. Surely Jonah would’ve mentioned if that were his god though.

What did he do to get sent to Nineveh?

While I knew I should refuse Jonah passage, I found myself too curious about his predicament. “Wow. Seems kinda harsh. My gods only demand a monetary donation to appease them.” I chuckled in a “but what can you do?” way. “You must’ve done something pretty bad to anger your god enough that he sent you there.”

While I expected Jonah to become fidgety again, he only shook his head.

“That’s the thing. I didn’t do anything.” He met my gaze, eyes wild. “No. God wants me to go there and… and preach to them. Tell them they’re wicked. I mean, is he crazy? Do you know what will happen to me if I show up in Nineveh and start telling people they’re wicked?”

He laughed again, and I found myself joining him. It was an insane notion. I blew out my cheeks, all remaining misgivings over the stranger seeping away.

“Anyway,” Jonah sighed, “Tarshish seems a good alternative.”

“I don’t know.” I snorted. “Kinda boring, if you ask me.”

“I like boring.” Jonah offered me the fare.

Noticing there were more coins than I’d asked for, I smiled. “Welcome aboard.”

“Throw you overboard?” I yelled over the raging winds. “Are you insane?”

Jonah’s shoulders sagged. “It’s the only way!” He swiped a lock of dripping hair from his eyes. “I wish it wasn’t. I hate swimming.”

“Swimming?” The waves hammered against the ship’s hull. “There’s no swimming in that. Just drowning.”

“I won’t drown. God won’t let me.” Jonah pursed his lips. “He still wants me to go to Nineveh.”

A shiver zipped up my spine, unnerved by how calmly Jonah acted for the situation. Most of my crew huddled in the corner, and they were no strangers to storms.

Not that this was a normal storm. Normal storms didn’t go from nothing to full force in a matter of seconds. On top of that, we weren’t even technically at sea yet. The shore was still within sight. In fact, when the weather started getting rough, I decided to redock. As soon as I gave the order, however, not only had the waves intensified, but the wind had also changed direction, forcing the ship farther out.

“Who are you?”

Jonah sighed. “I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord. God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land.”

At first, I didn’t comprehend his words. Then I realized just who his god was: the Israelite god rumored to have preternatural power. I narrowed my eyes. “What did you do?”

Jonah crossed his arms. “Don’t act like I tricked you. I told you from the start that I was running away from God.”

“Yeah, but I thought you meant Baal or something. Not…” I motioned at the darkened sky, unsure exactly where the unseen Israelite god dwelled.

“Well, you know what they say about assumptions.” Jonah shrugged.  “He’s angry with me, not you. Throw me into the sea, and the storm will stop.”

“That’s all, huh?” I growled. “Just murder you and all will be well?”

“I’ll be fine.” Jonah flicked his gaze upward.

Shaking my head, I glanced at my bedraggled crew. They knew as well as I that there was no battling against a supernatural storm. Jonah’s god was punishing him. The longer we aided him, the more we’d share in his punishment. So, after uttering a quick supplication to this all-powerful god, we threw Jonah into the sea.

And the storm ceased.

The clouds dispersed, transforming the sky from gray to blue. The waves lapped gently against the ship’s hull, and there was just the right amount of wind to guide the sails.

“I told you,” Jonah called from where he tread water.

I snapped my mouth shut. “Right. What now? Do we leave you there? Is your God sending another boat through to bring you to Nineveh? Or…”

I trailed off as a dark shape emerged from the sea’s depths. As its shadow grew, I realized the ascending creature was a gargantuan monster larger than my ship. Jonah barely had time to register my fear before a set of massive jaws snapped shut around him. My crew and I stared, mouths agape, as the colossal beast sank back beneath the water’s surface.

“So,” my first mate mused after a moment. “I guess he’s not going to Nineveh after all?”

I sniffed and backed away from the railing. “Or that was his ride.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Dib is a stay-at-home mom of three small children. After marrying a soldier, she left her home state of South Carolina to live in random places across the United States. Her works of short fiction have been published by On the Premises Magazine, Havok Publishing, and Ye Olde Dragon Books. She has also had short stories published by Toasted Cheese Literary Journal under the name R.J. Snowberger.

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