📖 FROM THE OPENING PAGES OF 63 Hours In Hell

Prologue

I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.

He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.

—Genesis 3:15 (HCSB)

Outside the Garden of Eden,
4000 BC

Last night was the first time Adam hadn’t mentioned her role in their downfall. It’s his fault, too.

Adam had sat next to Eve when the devil tricked her. He could have stopped her from biting into the fruit. But as with every other time they discussed their sin, Adam reminded her about the perfection in the garden and how everything was ruined now. Eve fumed as hot tears slipped through her lashes. How dare he make her feel unworthy. God should have protected us from the serpent. “If a place is named Paradise,” she had questioned, “why would God allow evil to enter?”

When Eve accused God of their predicament, Adam’s handsome face turned rigid, and he’d bite his plump lower lip as he retreated out the door away from her — from them. Then, the unbearable silence stretched for days. Eve couldn’t even talk to the animals now. How she missed confiding in Chaber. God had taken away her lion friend, too. But last night, Eve made an amazing discovery: a delicious meal had ended the silent treatment.

After dinner, Adam surprised her with a wooden cradle. Eve grinned as she remembered her husband’s joyful expression over his creation. She patted her enlarged stomach and trudged to the grove, twig basket in hand. Tonight, she would create another mouth-watering dish, desiring to extend his pleasant mood. By the time the baby arrived, she hoped to restore their former love, before their enemy had ruined everything.

Eve forced herself to walk past the apple grove to get to the cherry trees. She kicked a rotten apple core lying on the ground. Adam would not appreciate that fruit in any form. Finally, she reached the trees full of ripe cherries, and soon, her twig basket overflowed with the sweet fruit.

A sharp pain stabbed Eve’s back, radiating down her thighs. She groaned. The extra baby weight was taking its toll on her once slim and curvy body. As she gingerly placed the basket on the ground, she saw the nearby grass blades sway.

A forked tongue flicked above the weeds. Eve froze. The snake raised its hooded head and glared at her before it slithered in the opposite direction. The hair on Eve’s neck stood on end. She recognized that snake. “I hate you, Devil!” she shouted.

An icy breeze whispered back, “I hate you more.”

A strong gust of cold air lifted her twig basket and slammed it back to the ground, scattering the berries. She hadn’t seen the serpent since that dreadful moment in the garden. Why was he back? Can it be the child I carry?

Eve recalled the prophecy God had delivered to her and her husband after they ate the forbidden fruit. He’d said their offspring would crush the devil’s head. Eve’s baby kicked in her womb as though he knew he had a part to play in the inevitable battle between Good and Evil.

“That’s right, Baby.” She caressed her stomach. “You will right what your parents have wronged.”

The second part of God’s message brought fear, though: “But he will bruise your heel.” The devil wanted to hurt her child. What did God mean by “bruise?” Maybe it wouldn’t be fatal? Eve didn’t care. She vowed to see the entire prophecy fulfilled — no matter the cost.

Eve glanced at her overturned basket — the cherries smashed in the grass like bursts of blood. She sighed. Her long walk and efforts were wasted. Why do I keep making bad decisions? Now, she’d have to hurry to have Adam’s dinner ready. Every day, he came home famished from toiling in that godforsaken field of thorns. The shortcut past the Garden of Eden was not an option: a cherub still guarded the entrance with a flaming sword. Their lovely paradise was now a prison, complete with iron bars constructed …

Soon, Chaber would be on the prowl, looking to devour his next meal. She’d strayed too far from home. Not home, she reminded herself. Never like Paradise.

In the garden, everything had been at their fingertips — no hunger, no sickness, and no sadness. The animals cuddled with her and Adam instead of hunting them. She and Adam laughed instead of arguing. And God. Every evening, he walked and talked with them. If she tried, sometimes she could still hear Him, but his voice faded with each passing day.

Eve kept a watchful eye over her shoulder until she reached the safety of their hut. Why couldn’t Adam forgive her? Should she admit everything was her fault? Would that appease him? No. Adam had been right next to her when that snake had offered the fruit. And what about God allowing the snake into the garden in the first place?

Eve sighed again. Enough. She had to stop rehearsing the hurts of the past if she wanted a future.

She peeked into her basket. A few smashed cherries floated in blood-red juice at the bottom. There might be enough to make a delectable sauce. Eve debated telling Adam about her latest run-in with the enemy. She didn’t want to worry him. He seemed concerned about the childbirth process. Her hands trembled as she touched her protruding stomach. God had warned them giving birth would be painful. She decided to remain silent until their baby entered the world. Then, she would inform Adam of the devil’s plan…

Tonight, she’d focus on making Adam happy. She would be the perfect helpmate.

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Susan