Cain: The Story of the First Murder and the Birth of an Unstoppable Evil Read online

  ENDORSEMENTS

  “A stunning and captivating novel. Brennan McPherson’s fluid prose and vivid imagination are a treat for the senses, bringing to life one of the Old Testament’s most enigmatic figures.”

  —Billy Coffey, critically acclaimed author

  of When Mockingbirds Sing and The Devil Walks in Mattingly

  “Cain is a wonderful novel that explores the ‘what ifs’ of the world’s first family. Brennan McPherson explores the questions we’ve all had about Adam and Eve. ‘What happened to Cain?’ is just the beginning. Brennan writes in a refreshing style that makes you want to read more, and I expect this novel is just the first of many more to come.”

  —Gordon Robertson

  CEO, The Christian Broadcasting Network

  “Orson Scott Card meets Stephen King. An imaginative debut novel that explores the first murder and makes us aware of the Cain in all of us. McPherson can write, and his beautiful language is both artistic and thought provoking.”

  —William Sirls, best-selling author

  of The Reason and The Sinners’ Garden

  “With literary skill and respect to the original text, McPherson weaves a terrific ‘what if’ story on the life of Cain, all the while exploring the depths of temptation, sin, and above all, God’s unfathomable mercy.”

  —Bill Myers, best-selling author of Eli

  “Thought provoking, well written, creative, highly imaginative, and all written within an honest attempt at accurately interpreting Scripture while allowing for creative license within the bounds of what might be possible. A smartly-paced debut novel. I think we’ll be hearing more of Brennan and his stories.”

  —Charles Martin, New York Times best-selling author of

  Unwritten and Water From My Heart

  CAIN

  The Story of the First Murder and the Birth of an Unstoppable Evil

  Copyright © 2016 Brennan S. McPherson

  ISBN: 978-1-4245-5232-0 (softcover)

  ISBN: 978-1-4245-5233-7 (e-book)

  Published by BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

  Racine, Wisconsin, USA

  BroadStreetPublishing.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Josh Meyer Photography and Design

  Interior by Katherine Lloyd at www.TheDESKonline.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  16 17 18 19 20 5 4 3 2 1

  To my grandmother,

  Nonnie

  Partial Family Tree

  CONTENTS

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  PART ONE: MURDER

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  PART TWO: RETRIBUTION

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  PART THREE: COLLAPSE

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  PART FOUR: INTO THE HEART OF DARKNESS

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  PART FIVE: THE CHILDREN

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  PART SIX: WAR

  Chapter Thirty One

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Chapter Thirty Six

  PART SEVEN: BEYOND THE SANDS OF TIME

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  Chapter Thirty Nine

  PART EIGHT: THE RETURN OF CAIN

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty One

  Chapter Forty Two

  Chapter Forty Three

  Chapter Forty Four

  Chapter Forty Five

  PART NINE: THE GARDEN

  Chapter Forty Six

  Chapter Forty Seven

  Chapter Forty Eight

  Chapter Forty Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty One

  Chapter Fifty Two

  Chapter Fifty Three

  Chapter Fifty Four

  PART TEN: REDEMPTION

  Chapter Fifty Five

  Chapter Fifty Six

  Chapter Fifty Seven

  Chapter Fifty Eight

  Chapter Fifty Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Epilogue

  Reading Group Guide

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Genesis is a literary masterpiece intended specifically for a Hebrew audience, so converting the story of Cain and Abel into a modern, full-length novel presented a few difficulties, not the least of which was the terseness of the narrative. The account spanning from Cain’s birth to his expulsion into the land of Nod (which means “wandering”) is only about two paragraphs long (Genesis 4:1–17).

  Another difficulty was its extraordinary ambiguity, which, while beautifully rich, makes it impossible to offer any singly authoritative interpretation. One example of this is in verse 17, which in Hebrew may be read as either, “Cain built a city and named it after his son, Enoch,” or, “Enoch built a city and named it after his son.” Two more examples lie in both the nature of the relationship between Cain and Abel as well as the hopes Eve held for her firstborn. Some scholars believe the original Hebrew implied that Cain and Abel were twins, and that Eve’s proclamation over the newborn Cain implied she hoped him to be the Christ prophesied of in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15; 4:1–2).

  Of course, a detailed and unified story could not be crafted without drawing specific conclusions to replace the original story’s ambiguity. Cain, like all works of fiction, is therefore a fantasy, a product of my imagination. But it is one that was formed out of Genesis 4:1–17 and the compelling questions it raises. What happened to the family after Cain was banished? What other family might he have had? Did Abel have a wife? How about children or grandchildren? How would the family have handled Abel’s murder? Why did God warn Cain of sin crouching at the door and waiting to devour him? Was there significance in using such language?

  Answering those and many other “what ifs” brought me on my own journey to a deeper encounter with Christ, and so the story reaches past the original narrative into the rest of Scripture to imagine the ongoing repercussions of sin and to rejoice in the redemptive power of Christ. The consequences of sin and the promise of redemption through Christ, I believe, are the most central themes of Genesis, and what connect the book t
o all of history. So, while this story is an expansion of the original text, nowhere did I draw any conclusions or intertwine any themes that couldn’t be fitted into the original Hebrew text.

  Two more notes should be made: one for the unusual capitalization of words such as “Music” and “Light”; and one for concepts jarring to the reader unfamiliar with the early Genesis stories.

  Certain elements in the book refer to biblical concepts that needed to be grounded in the familiar, and for this reason, I used recognizable images or words and capitalized them when in reference to something other than themselves.

  This story is also set in a culture vastly different from ours, and the critical reader must keep this in mind. Though I have modernized the story in many ways, other elements, such as Adam and Eve’s children marrying each other, remain. While this may seem disturbing to some, nearly all biblical scholars agree this was the only choice, and was actually encouraged by God in this time period. It wasn’t until thousands of years after this story takes place that God formed laws regarding siblings marrying (Leviticus 18).

  Thank you for picking up this book. I hope you enjoy reading Cain and that it draws you closer to the heart of God.

  PROLOGUE

  Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

  —GENESIS 3:22–24 ESV

  Piercing cries echoed through the dark cavern. Adam felt Eve’s fingernails dig at his hand hard enough to draw blood, but couldn’t sense whether the moisture was blood or sweat as the shadows rendered it colorless.

  He brushed back her hair as she drew air through flared nostrils like a wounded animal. Her body shook as she gritted her teeth and let out a scream longer and more agonized than any before. Then a sound that had never been heard in the world met his ears.

  The sound of a human baby crying.

  The sunrise breathed into the cave and warmed Adam’s back as he cleaned the baby, cut the cord attached to its belly, and presented the newborn to Eve as a trophy marking months of struggle in the wilderlands. She accepted it with rapture and said in a shaky whisper, “With the Lord’s help I have delivered a boy!”

  Adam pressed his forehead to hers and laughed. His unmistakable reflection glowed in the newborn’s features, but as he watched Eve twirl the child’s black hair, a cold sensation dulled the smile on his face and prickled the hairs on his arms.

  Eve looked up from their child. “We should call him Cain, for he is our firstborn.”

  Adam looked up and, upon seeing the joy in his wife’s eyes, smiled and nodded, and mouthed their baby’s name to feel it on his lips. So much waiting, so much wondering. To finally experience the birth they had waited for produced a strange mixture of excitement, disbelief, and anxiety.

  But as they entwined their fingers and rested, Eve let out a cry. “Something’s wrong,” she said.

  He shook his head and swallowed, attempting to attend to her as her hand closed over his again. But no matter what help he offered, her screams grew. “Eve,” he whispered, though she did not reply, seemingly too deafened by pain. “Eve.”

  “What?” she said through bared teeth.

  “I think another child is coming.”

  Her breath accelerated and her neck muscles tensed as she screamed again. He whispered to her that all would be well, but his eyes caught the dark baby lying beside her, and the words seemed to fall apart in his mouth. He pressed his lips together and focused on helping her again. Finally, through her sweat, blood, and water, a second child plunged into the world and gasped in shock.

  Adam lifted the second infant into the growing glow of daylight as it wriggled and squealed in discomfort. Another boy, except with platinum hair and a complexion to match. Adam looked at Eve with his own delighted smile. “We will call him Abel, for he came like a sudden gasp.” He brushed the boy’s hair aside and whispered, “My boy, Abel.”

  In a cave in the wilderness, the first children ever born lay cradled in their mother’s arms. Abel on her left and Cain on her right. But the father’s gaze rested most on Abel.

  PART ONE:

  MURDER

  For your hands are defiled with blood

  and your fingers with iniquity;

  your lips have spoken lies;

  your tongue mutters wickedness …

  and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.

  —ISAIAH 59:3, 5 ESV

  1

  Cain stood on a nameless hilltop. He was far from the City, and below him stretched a vast field of long grasses and wild flowers. Several trees stood in the depression, but the valley was mostly flat and open, and cloud cover poured darkness into it like wine into a giant bowl. He studied a familiar figure in the midst of the valley as the smell of coming rain wove through the scent of plant and soil. Then he gazed into the growing eastern twilight and descended toward the figure.

  The earth was soft beneath his feet. Moisture bubbled between his toes, and mud suctioned his feet in place, as if the world was attempting to stop him. He smiled at the thought.

  Let everything try to stop me. Let the world try.

  Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, he waded through the waist-high grass. A slight wind blew through the valley, brushed the blades back and forth in rippling waves, and caused them to shimmer. He focused on the figure he had followed to this place as his mind likened it to a statue, a silhouette chiseled out of the surroundings. He was close enough to be heard, so he stopped as the grasses beat his legs. Every moment was intoxicating, and though he had spent weeks planning every word he would speak tonight, he decided to savor the moment.

  The winds settled and the silhouetted man addressed him in the lull. “Which do you enjoy more, the calm or the storm?”

  Cain did not respond. The wind picked up again, and the grasses continued their attack on his legs.

  “The clouds are in labor, but the floodgates are barred.”

  Cain took a step forward with clenched hands. The figure turned and his blue eyes gleamed. Cain knew those eyes well. He remembered seeing them gaze at him from a face soft with youth as the memory aged and merged with the shadowed figure before him.

  Abel. The name spilled from countless recollections like a compendium of wasps.

  “I know why you are here. You might as well voice your thoughts,” Abel said.

  Cain’s head throbbed and his breath stuttered; so much depended on this encounter. “You have always wanted to frame me as a failure, haven’t you?”

  Abel paused before answering. “I have done nothing but speak truth.”

  “And strive to ridicule me.”

  Abel shook his head.

  Somewhere, long ago, young Abel tugged on Father’s garment and pointed, directing Adam’s twitching frown and furrowed brow toward Cain. “You have always played the favorite.” He broke a stalk of grass and tossed it. “I could have had respect and love, but you stole it.”

  “I have stolen nothing. Is it my fault if others show favoritism?”

  “Of course it is. Don’t play the fool. Every time I fall, you are there to take my place. Every mistake I make, you are there to correct it. Everything you do is born through your desire to be better than me. Since birth, life has been nothing but a contest between us, hasn’t it?”

  “I do what is right, and if that puts me ahead in others’ eyes, so be it.”

  “Do I only do wrong?”

  “You have sinned.”

  Cain laughed. “I take chances. I diverge from the well-trodden road to forge my own because that earth feels better under my feet. The dust kicked up by everyone else gets in my eyes and teeth, and I grow tired of spitt
ing it out.”

  “It was not my desire that the Almighty would accept my sacrifice and not yours.”

  Cain knew his gift still lay by the altar caked with the dry blood of Abel’s offering. The muscles in his neck flexed and pulsed with hot blood at the memory of the broken stalks of his garden lying discarded on stone and trampled by feet. He shook his head. “That wouldn’t be enough to bring me here. You have played me for a fool since the day you learned you could.”

  Abel laid his words like a silk carpet between them. “I made my choices and you made yours. I have never been guided by malice.”

  “But you think me a stepping-stone. You cannot deny you have perpetually gained by my failure.”

  Abel bit his cheek and shook his head.

  “You expect me to ignore the past hundred years?”

  Abel’s eyes chilled and sharpened, though his voice remained mild. “No matter what I say, you believe what you want to believe. Your jealousy has poisoned you against me.”

  Cain lowered the pitch of his voice. “I have not been jealous of you one day of my life.”

  “But I know you have. I know you better than any other.”

  “If you did, you would not open your mouth again.”

  “Are you threatening me? I have abided the hatred in your eyes for far too long. I have loved you all my life, but you have pitted yourself against me as if I were trying to usurp your place as first-born.”

  “I took care of you when you were weak. I protected you, I taught you, and I led you. That is love. What have you ever given me in return?”

  Abel was silent.

  The corner of Cain’s mouth trembled. “And what do I get from everyone else? Father prefers you, he always has. From the moment you were born, I was unwanted. And now even the Almighty has rejected me.”

  “But I have done nothing to you.”

  “No, you’ve made sure of that. And your inaction, your calculated silence, it has twisted everyone I love against me.”

  “Give me proof, not empty words.”

  Cain remembered how Sarah’s eyes had danced over Abel at the celebration the day before; and when Abel turned and met her gaze, a flame burned in her eyes like a spark in dry grass. Cain knew that look and had for years failed to draw it from her. It was admiration, attraction, love. Yes, as much as she tried convincing Cain otherwise, Sarah loved Abel. Cain scowled. “We both know my words are anything but empty.”