Hunted (34 page)

Here in Petra, by ten in the morning, people out in the sun without the seal of God were burned alive. This may seem an unparalleled opportunity to plead once again for the souls of men and women, because millions will lose loved ones. But the Scriptures also indicate that this may come so late in the hearts of the undecided that they will have already been hardened
.

Burned alive
. Judd couldn't imagine such horror. He had seen scary movies where people had been burned, and the images had stuck in his mind.

Tsion included the Scripture that mentioned the judgment:

Revelation 16:8-9 says, “Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”

Tsion's message continued, explaining as much as he could, but the man admitted he did not know how long the heat would last. Judd read the brief message again. He had so many questions. Was Chang right about being able to move around during daylight? If cars had exploded in New Babylon, would the Humvee they had hidden near the hideout also explode, or would God somehow spare believers' vehicles?

Judd wished he could talk with Tsion himself, but he knew that wasn't possible. He recalled a conversation with Rayford Steele, who gave his secure phone number and offered to help in making decisions. Judd glanced at his watch. Before he called Vicki with the news, he had to talk with Captain Steele.

Vicki Byrne hadn't slept well the past few nights. Cheryl's moods swung like playground equipment, but the truth was, the situation with the Fogartys had eased a little. Cheryl had said she didn't need to see Ryan much anymore, and Marshall and Zeke were trying to find her another place to live.

But Vicki had to admit that Cheryl wasn't the only reason she was losing sleep. Members of the Young Tribulation Force had grown frustrated. Some wanted to take more chances to find people without the mark of Carpathia. Mark had talked about leaving the group and traveling, but Zeke had convinced him to stay.

The newest members of the group, Ty and Tanya Spivey, along with the others who had broken away from Tanya's father's group, had thought the camp in Wisconsin was the next best thing to heaven when they arrived. Now they felt disappointed at the conflict.

“I know we're all human,” Tanya had said to Vicki when they were alone one morning, “but the stuff with Cheryl and the fighting between Conrad and Shelly upset me.”

“I'm just as disappointed as you,” Vicki said, “but when we become believers we're not promised that everything's going to be easy. In a lot of ways, things got worse when I became a believer.”

“That doesn't seem fair. If God loves us, wouldn't he help us solve our problems?”

Vicki couldn't think of a Bible passage that addressed the subject, and she had to admit she felt the same way. She wanted God to fix things. The world's troubles had united the kids for a time, but each day brought new struggles.

Something moved outside the cabin, and Vicki sat up. The moon shone through the curtains, casting an eerie glow. She strained to hear, but all was quiet.

Vicki closed her eyes and prayed for her friends, especially Judd. If God would bring him back, she could put up with any problem.

Judd dialed the number to the hideout in San Diego and took a deep breath.

“Steele,” Rayford answered.

“I hope I'm not bothering you, Captain. This is Judd Thompson.”

“Not a problem. What's up?”

Judd explained what Chang Wong had told him, and Rayford said he had just gotten off the phone with Dr. Ben-Judah. “I wanted to ask him if those with the seal of God would be immune to the heat.”

“My question exactly,” Judd said. “What did Tsion say?”

“He said they feel some extra warmth there in Petra and some people are a little tired, but like Chang, they're not feeling the effects like unbelievers.”

“Then it's true. I could go out tomorrow morning without the GC knowing about it.”

“It's likely. I told Tsion this could mean a lot to the Trib Force. As long as we hide before GC officers come out, we're okay.”

“Which means you can move supplies around the country.”

“Exactly. And with the way the groups are begging for food, this comes at a great time.”

“I'm trying to get to the Wisconsin hideout. Do you think it would be safe to drive there tomorrow?”

“You're talking about Avery, right?”

“Yes.”

“And what's your location now?”

Judd told him.

“I don't know if I'd chance it unless you have some place to ditch for the night. Wait and see what happens tomorrow. I'll be talking with our people about flights to various groups. Maybe you could tag along.”

“Great. But will planes be able to fly in the heat?”

“I hope so. You have to understand we have no idea how long this will last. It could be a few hours, a few days, or weeks. Tsion cautioned that God has never been predictable with these plagues. We know the order they come in, and we used to think that when one ended the next one began. Now we know they can overlap. Tsion just doesn't want to see us caught in the open when the thing ends.”

“Me either. But you know the Global Community has to look at something like this as another nail in their coffin.”

“The world's in bad shape. People are scrounging for food and the bare necessities. There's no law except survival. Everybody who's smart goes out with a gun.”

“Sort of like the Old West.”

“Right, except the good guys are the evangelists. Yesterday I got a report about two who preached to a small town in Germany. There were still a few holdouts to Carpathia's mark, and these evangelists found them, but before they could finish speaking, a group of armed men broke into the meeting. They took all the valuables and Nicks the people had and then separated the men from the women.”

“I don't like the sound of this.”

“Neither did I, until I heard what happened next. It was clear this gang of thieves was up to no good. But as they were leading the women outside, an angel appeared at the door, and with a couple of words the robbers all fell dead.”

“What happened to the others?”

“All of them believed the message and received the mark of God.”

Judd shook his head. “I'd almost given up about any undecided. It seems like everybody's chosen Carpathia or God.”

“This is the greatest rescue mission the earth has ever known. On the video reports about the wrath of the Lamb earthquake, people dug through collapsed buildings for days, even weeks, looking for just one survivor. In one hospital, they found a baby alive fifteen days after the earthquake. I like to think our mission is the same. We have to keep digging, keep praying, keep hoping that we'll find someone who's ready to hear the message.”

“I hadn't thought about it that way,” Judd said.

“People have lost faith in the GC and its leaders. If there's anyone out there without Carpathia's mark, and we can get to them, I have to believe they'll choose the light instead of darkness. They're going to be suffering as the sun rises every day.”

Judd paused. “But hasn't Dr. Ben-Judah said God is actually showing mercy with these judgments?”

“I asked him about that, and he still thinks the fact that more plagues are coming means God still wants people to repent. Most won't and will curse God, but Tsion supports our efforts to find the remaining undecided.”

“Then I want to be part of it. And I'll bet there's a bunch of people in Wisconsin who would too and some here in Ohio.”

“Let's see what the morning brings,” Rayford said. “In the meantime, call Vicki and tell her the good news.”

“You know about us?”

“Chloe told me. My guess is you two will be back together within a couple of days.”

Judd couldn't help but smile as he hung up. He had tried to stay reserved with Captain Steele, but he was sure some of his excitement had come through on the phone. He quickly dialed Vicki's number.

Vicki awoke with a start. She couldn't tell how long she had been sleeping. Was it an hour? two? The moon had moved little in the window, so she guessed she hadn't been asleep long.

Something outside had startled her. Or had it been a dream? It sounded like Marshall's van, but who could be taking it this time of night?

For the first time in a long while, Vicki worried about the Global Community. What if they had discovered the remote camp? She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, grabbed a flashlight, and tiptoed outside.

The ground was wet with dew, and the crisp temperature raised goose bumps on her arms. She headed for the main cabin where the others usually gathered and saw footprints heading toward Josey and Tom Fogarty's cabin. When she pointed the flashlight at their front door, she noticed it was open a few inches.

Someone stirred inside, and a light came on.

“Mrs. Fogarty?” Vicki whispered.

A shriek pierced the night.

Vicki rushed toward the cabin as Tom Fogarty swung the door open. “Where is he?”

“Where's who?” Vicki said.

Josey bounded to the door behind him. “He's gone! Ryan's gone!”

32

VICKI
rushed inside the cabin and saw Ryan's empty bed. On Ryan's second birthday, Zeke had given the boy a toddler bed in the shape of a car. The child's blanket was gone and a stuffed bear lay on the floor.

Tom Fogarty had run out the door as soon as Vicki arrived. Josey shook while she ran around the room, looking under the bed, checking in the closet. “Sometimes he'll play hide-and-seek and I won't find him until he laughs, but he's never run off at night. Ryan started sleeping at night, you know.”

Vicki took Josey's arm and gently pulled her onto the bed. “Tell me what happened.”

“We just woke up and he was gone! It's so chilly outside, and the little thing didn't have shoes on.”

“I saw footprints outside, but they didn't look like a child's.”

Tom Fogarty ran inside breathing hard, his face pale. Marshall followed him in.

“Did you find him?” Josey said.

“We checked Cheryl's cabin,” Tom said. “She's not there.”

“Look in the other cabins,” Josey said. “Check the meeting place or—”

Marshall held up a hand. “Ma'am, the van's gone. I usually keep the keys hidden, but somehow she must have found them.”

“You think Cheryl … ?” Josey's voice trailed off, and her eyes fluttered. Suddenly she locked eyes with Tom.

“Then we have to go after him. We have another car—”

“Hang on,” Marshall said. “We're going after her and Ryan. Zeke and Mark have gone for the car. She's gotten a head start, but hopefully she hasn't gone far.”

While Tom tried to calm Josey, Vicki followed Marshall outside. “Let me go with you. When we catch up to her I can—”