David and Absalom

King David's throne has been stolen. In an earlier Imagination Station adventure, Olivia and Matthew Parker traveled back to ancient Israel, where Olivia became dazzled by the handsome, charming Prince Absalom - so dazzled that she followed him to Hebron, not realizing he was plotting to seize his father David's crown. Now the rebellion has begun, and the two siblings find themselves on opposite sides of it.

Matthew, serving as an aide to General Joab, flees Jerusalem with King David and his loyal followers. As they retreat through a rocky canyon, a man named Shimei hurls stones and curses down at the king, shouting at David to get out of Israel. Joab wants to cut the troublemaker's head off, but David refuses, saying he deserves the curses - and that perhaps God will one day return good to him instead. On the road, David's old friend and counselor Hushai arrives to join him, but David has a better idea: he sends Hushai back to Jerusalem to pretend to serve Absalom and to thwart the advice of Ahithophel, the brilliant counselor who has betrayed David. Before Hushai leaves, Matthew begs him to check on Olivia and let her know he's worried about her.

In Jerusalem, Olivia is discovering that Absalom is not the hero she imagined. He now calls himself king, brushes off her questions, and does whatever Ahithophel tells him. When Ahithophel advises taking twelve thousand men to chase down the exhausted David and kill everyone with him, Olivia is horrified - her brother is in that camp. Hushai steps in with different advice: David is a fierce, experienced warrior, so Absalom should wait, gather a massive army, and lead it into battle personally for the glory. Flattered, Absalom chooses Hushai's plan, and when Olivia protests that he can't kill her brother, he explodes at her. "I am king! I shall do as I please!" Watching him rage, Olivia wonders what she ever saw in him.

That night, Hushai secretly visits Olivia. He reveals that he is spying for David and asks for her help: two of David's messengers, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, have been spotted, and Absalom's general Amasa is coming to capture them. Olivia hurries to a house in Bahurim with a well out front - and finds not only the messengers but Matthew, who has sprained his ankle. When soldiers' torches appear, Matthew makes Olivia hide in the well with the messengers while he, unable to climb down, stays above to face the soldiers. Thanks to the quick-thinking servant Hadassah, who tells the soldiers the messengers crossed the brook hours ago, the men in the well escape capture. But the soldiers recognize Matthew's darts as Joab's and haul him and Hadassah off to Absalom.

Olivia reaches David's camp with Hushai's warning, and the whole company crosses the river to safety. But when she begs for someone to rescue Matthew, David refuses to risk it, and Olivia can hardly believe this is the man her brother calls a hero. Joab quietly promises that if Absalom harms one hair of Matthew's head, he will make him pay. Meanwhile, Absalom learns that Ahithophel, his rejected counselor, has taken his own life. Shaken, Absalom musters his army and vows to leave no one in David's camp alive - even though Olivia is there.

Before the battle, David charges his commanders to deal gently with the young man Absalom for his sake. Joab's only answer is a grim "If possible" - the same answer he gives Olivia when she asks him to watch out for Matthew. Waiting for news, Olivia asks David the hard question: why did he have Uriah killed so he could steal his wife? David sadly confesses his wickedness and remembers the prophet Nathan pointing at him with the words "You are the man." God forgave his sin, David explains, but did not take away its consequences - the sword has never left his house.

The battle goes terribly for Absalom. With twenty thousand of his men lost, he leaps on his mule to flee, refusing to free the still-tied Matthew - "Untie yourself!" - and rides straight under the trees, where his famous hair tangles in the branches and leaves him dangling helplessly in midair. Joab arrives, frees Matthew, and orders Absalom killed. A soldier refuses, remembering the king's command, so Joab, deaf to Absalom's pleas for mercy, does the deed himself. When a runner brings David word of victory, the king asks only one question: is it well with the young man Absalom? The answer breaks his heart, and he weeps, "Oh, Absalom. My son. My son."

Back at Whit's End, Olivia and Matthew tumble out of the Imagination Station and hug each other in relief. Mr. Whittaker reflects that the story of David and Absalom is a tragedy of a son turning against his father and a father who failed his son. Olivia admits she was wrong about hero worship - it's easy to be swayed by a good-looking, charismatic leader. The three agree that heroes are human and will sometimes fail, even the godly ones, which is why everyone needs the grace of God - the only real superhero. But Olivia says there was one hero in the adventure she truly admires: Matthew, who sacrificed himself at the well to save her. Matthew points out that she came to warn them, so she's pretty heroic too.