Hunted (31 page)

“A what?” Charlie said.

“A demon in human form. Tsion referred to Revelation 12 that says that when Satan was cast out of heaven the other bad angels were cast out with him. John 10:10 says Satan wants only to steal and to kill and to destroy. So it all fits.

Hunted
“Take heart in this,” Vicki concluded. “I'll read you the last part of Sam's letter.

“ ‘Dr. Ben-Judah told his friends that God is doing his “winnowing work.” This means he is cleaning the earth of his enemies, wiping them out, and allowing those who still haven't chosen for God to face the consequences. Dr. Ben-Judah concluded with a verse from Romans. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? … For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things—to whom be glory for ever.” '

“Sam finishes with this. ‘We need to be careful about the deception of the evil one, but the good news is that there are still more people to reach. May God give each of us new opportunities, even today, to come in contact with the undecided and convince them that God loves them.' ”

Sam met with Lev and his mother early the next morning in Petra. The two admitted they had never read much of the Bible. As they munched their morning manna, Sam helped them understand an overview of the Scriptures.

A buzz spread through the million-member camp that everyone should gather after breakfast. Sam took a break from teaching, and the three went to the meeting place. Mrs. Taubman's heart was heavy about losing her daughter and husband, and Sam could tell Lev was struggling too. He tried to comfort them as much as he could before Chaim Rosenzweig, known as Micah, spoke.

“Tsion believes the Lord has told him that no more indecision reigns in the camp. You may confirm that by looking about you. Is there anyone in this place without the mark of the believer? Anyone anywhere? We will not pressure or condemn you. This is just for our information.”

Sam looked around at the people near him. Everyone he saw had the mark of the believer.

After a few minutes, Tsion Ben-Judah stepped forward. “The prophet Isaiah predicted that ‘it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

“ ‘The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return… .' And of the evil ruler of this world who has tormented you, Isaiah says further, ‘It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed.' Praise the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

“The prophet Zechariah quoted our Lord God himself, speaking of the land of Israel, that ‘two-thirds of it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it. I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name and I will answer them. I will say, “This is My people.” And each one will say, “The Lord is my God.” '

“My dear friends, you remnant of Israel, this is in accord with the clear teaching of Ezekiel, chapter 37, where our barren nation is seen in the last days to be a valley of dry bones, referred to by the Lord himself as ‘the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” '

“But then, dear ones, God said to Ezekiel, ‘Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel… . I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it.' ”' ”

Sam looked at Lev and his mother. Sam was grateful he had been part of God's rescue plan for them both.

29

JUDD
sat in the early morning darkness, staring at an old map of the United States of America. It had been months since he and Lionel had arrived at the Ohio safe house, and things had changed drastically. An all-out blitz on believers from the Global Community had left few safe places between this location and Wisconsin. Commander Kruno Fulcire appeared daily, rewarding loyal citizens for finding hidden believers.

Judd had even recognized two who were beheaded shortly after they appeared on live broadcasts. Fulcire seethed at those who avoided taking Carpathia's mark. Citizens hunted down the unmarked for cash to help keep themselves alive. Many were hungry, and it became more and more difficult to move supplies.

The food situation for the Ohio safe house had become bleak. They didn't have manna from heaven or quail that flew in for dinner every day like Petra. With an influx of new people, the once huge hiding place got smaller. Judd no longer ruled the computer, and it became difficult to keep his appointments with Vicki.

The doctor who had helped Lionel at the safe house moved with a few others to another location Judd had helped build. The work had been done only at night, and though there were several scares, the GC hadn't discovered their secret operation.

Lionel had been depressed that he couldn't help with the digging and physical work, but he had kept in contact with other Trib Force locations and with Chloe Steele. She had tried to get supplies from the Co-op to their location, but it was difficult with all the GC activity. Lionel had catalogued their supply list and put everyone on a ration system.

Despite the negatives, Judd knew God was still working. Another plague had hit the earth, turning rivers into rushing floods of blood. Judd had traveled past a nearby river every night on his way to the construction area, and the gurgling blood and horrible smell was sickening. One night he had stood in the moonlight, looking at a river so dark it seemed like a bottomless pit. He had found it difficult to sleep, having nightmares about blood washing over him, and that was the last time he walked close to the river.

The bloody water caused people to focus less on hunting down people without Carpathia's mark and more on staying alive, which had been good for believers. People were still coming to the truth and giving their lives to God through the kids' Web site, which Judd had all but abandoned with the construction project. Lionel kept Judd up-to-date with new contacts and anything he learned.

Reports from around the world came in about sightings of angels preaching in remote areas. Lionel nearly attacked Judd early one morning as he came in, muddy and sweating from a night of work.

“You've got to see this,” Lionel said, pulling Judd toward the computer.

Judd stared at the message from Chang.

I just heard a story from our Co-op group in Argentina. Rayford Steele is one of the pilots. Rayford and some others found themselves in a group of locals moving through the countryside. They finally found someone who spoke English and asked where everyone was going
.

The people said they had been invited by three men who came to their door and told them to meet together to hear good news. They told them not to be afraid, even though none of these people had the mark of Carpathia. Pretty soon, the GC showed up, about a hundred troops
.

Judd felt goose bumps as he read. He wiped a finger clean, pressed the computer's down arrow, and read the rest of the message.

The GC told them they couldn't meet together and that they had twenty-four hours to take the mark of Carpathia or face death. But the people didn't pay attention. Then, as the man on the bullhorn shouted his final warning, someone called for silence
.

“One of the angels,” Judd said under his breath as he scrolled down.

It was the angel Christopher. He introduced his coworkers, Nahum and Caleb, and then ordered the GC troops to leave the area or face death by God's hand. They did leave, and after that the angels repeated the message we have heard about all around the world
.

Judd secretly wished he would be visited by some kind of angel that could pick him up and drop him in Wisconsin. He had seen angelic visitors on television and had heard about them from Vicki and others, but he had never seen or spoken with one in person.

Now, as he sat looking at the map and estimating the number of miles between him and Vicki, he ran his finger along the waterways. Many of them had changed since the great earthquake, but he wondered if he had some kind of boat that would float in the blood… .

Judd put his head on the map and closed his eyes. There was word of a Global Community stronghold being built south of the bombed-out city of Chicago. If that was true, Judd knew it would take a miracle to get to Wisconsin.

Judd thought of the verses he had looked up about patience and perseverance. The Bible spoke in various ways about hanging in during the tough times, and Judd had written every reference down and had committed several to memory.

His favorite was from Romans, and Judd softly mouthed the words. “ ‘We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us.' ”

I don't want any more character, God
, Judd thought.
I just want to get back to Vicki
.

Vicki and the others in Wisconsin made the most of every opportunity given to them to tell people about God. Their main contact with the outside world was through the Internet, and everyone rejoiced when a new person came to Christ. Janie had made red hearts out of some old fabric she had found. Each time they received word of a person receiving the mark of the believer, she put a heart on the wall above the computer. “Another heart snatched from that evil Nicolae,” she said.

Jim Dekker, the computer whiz who had worked for the Global Community before coming to live with the kids, had developed another version of The Cube, the high-tech presentation of the gospel. Though hackers loyal to the GC had tried to corrupt the files, Jim had defeated their attempts.

The Fogartys, Tom and Josey, had taken to baby Ryan as soon as he had been born. A few months after his birth, the baby went on formula Charlie and the others had found. Unlike the situation in Ohio, Vicki's group had plenty to eat and a supply that would last months and perhaps years.

As the baby grew, Vicki noticed a sadness in Cheryl. When the Fogartys were with the baby in the main cabin, she avoided them. Cheryl skipped many of their devotion times, saying she needed more sleep or wasn't feeling well. Every time Vicki tried to talk with her about it, Cheryl changed the subject. By the time Ryan started to crawl, Cheryl had moved into a run-down shack by herself farthest away from the others. At each milestone in the baby's life—his first tooth, his first haircut, his first word, which was
dada
—Cheryl withdrew more and more.

Though Cheryl's attitude concerned Vicki, there was still much to be excited about. Tanya and Ty Spivey, along with the other believers who had broken away from the cult in the cave, grew in their faith almost as quickly as Ryan gained weight. They were at every meeting, every prayer vigil, and were some of the first to read Tsion Ben-Judah's Web site and Sam Goldberg's Petra Diaries.

Vicki had become resigned to Judd's absence. She knew how dangerous it was to travel, and though there were nights when she wanted to jump into Marshall Jameson's van and barrel south, she knew it was best to wait.

Her love for Judd grew, even as their talks via computer and phone became less frequent. Both Judd and Vicki had been asked to cut down their time, so Vicki wrote her thoughts and prayers and typed them when others weren't around.