Whale of a Tale by Eric A. Kimmel

Author:Eric A. Kimmel [Kimmel, Eric A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action, Adventure, Bible, Bravery, Chapter Book, Fantasy, Fiction, Friendship, Humor, Jewish Children's Book, Jewish Culture, Religious, Jewish, Bible Story, Eric A. Kimmel, Ivica Stevanovic, Jonah and the Great Fish, Jonah and the Whale, Scarlett and Sam, Whale of a Tale, Yom Kippur
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Published: 2019-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Nineveh or Bust!

Getting soaked in seawater hadn’t done their cell phones much good. Sam’s was completely dead. Scarlett’s still had a small charge. But they didn’t expect what the cell phone light showed.

The bacteria in the giant fish’s gut were bioluminescent, glowing in the dark. The faint glow from Scarlett’s cell phone set off waves of purple, red, and green that rippled and pulsed around them in an intestinal version of the Northern Lights, providing enough light for Scarlett and Sam to see what was around them.

Orange rings of cartilage formed a half dome above their heads. Pink and green fingerlike projections from the walls waved at them as they sloshed through murky soup up to their knees. The liquid teemed with all kinds of living and partially digested sea creatures: eels, fish, and squid, as well as unsavory lumps of unidentifiable beings.

And the smell! It was a cross between a neglected cat litter box and a full garbage can. And not just any garbage can. An overflowing can of ripe garbage left out on the curb for a week in the middle of summer. Scarlett and Sam tried not to gag at every breath.

And there were noises. Creaks, groans, and snorts, punctuated with bubbling gurgles that released foul-smelling gases.

“This critter needs an antacid tablet,” said Scarlett, gasping for breath.

“It would take a cargo container of antacid tablets just to make a dent,” Sam said. “Do you see any trace of Jonah?”

“No,” Scarlett said. “Do you want to turn around and walk in the other direction?”

“Not especially,” said Sam. “We have light here. Who knows if we’d still be able to see if we turned around. If we only had some clue . . .”

“Wait! What’s that? Did you hear it?”

“Hear what?” Sam asked.

“There! Just listen.”

Sam and Scarlett held their breath, trying to hear what Scarlett had heard through the groans, grumbles, burps, and squishes of the giant fish’s belly. Sam had almost given up when he finally heard the sound. It was . . . yes! A voice. And not a happy one. Scarlett and Sam could barely make it out as it gasped a few words.

“I cry to you from the belly of Sheol. Hear my voice . . .”

“What’s Sheol?” Sam asked Scarlett.

“People in Bible times believed it was this nasty pit where you went after you died.”

The voice continued.

“You threw me into the deep, to the middle of the ocean. The water surrounded me. The waves covered me . . .”

Sam and Scarlett followed the voice as it led them along the pulsing walls of the big fish’s digestive tract.

“There he is!” Scarlett shouted. Long, fingerlike projections from the shark’s innards wrapped around Jonah like tentacles, holding him fast as they pushed him down into the murky soup.

“It’s digesting him!” Scarlett shrieked. They ran to Jonah, trying to pull him loose. The long slimy tentacles oozed greenish goo that made it impossible for the twins to get a grip.

“It’s no use,” Jonah gasped. “I’m finished. Run.

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