Hunted (39 page)

“We never should have let you stay that close to him,” Vicki said. “If I had it to do over again, I'd have gone with you to another location.”

“Where?” Cheryl said. “I don't want to be anywhere but with Ryan.”

Vicki kept quiet as Cheryl cried. She had hoped Cheryl would say she was sorry for taking Ryan, but she seemed to be making excuse after excuse.

“Being cooped up at that camp didn't help. There's nothing to do, and every time I saw Ryan I thought about us being together, just him and me. That's how it should have been.”

“How did you plan it?”

“The van? I watched Marshall and figured out where he kept his keys. It took a while, but I finally got them. All that time I planned where I would go. At first, I was going to just drive and ask God to show me a place. Then I got scared and decided to write Wanda.”

“We found your e-mails to her.”

Cheryl smacked her forehead. “I thought I'd deleted those.”

“Cheryl, you made a promise to Josey and Tom. You know you can't give Ryan the kind of home—”

“I'm his mother! There's only a little more than a year before Jesus comes back, and I can do as much for him as anybody.”

“I think you've ruined that now. How can we trust you when you kidnap—”

“My own son?”

“When you get so moody and won't talk and then endanger all of us by kidnapping a member of the group?”

Vicki watched Cheryl stare at the fires raging on the hillside. She didn't know what to say and silently prayed, “God, please show Cheryl where's she's been wrong. Help her to see the truth about what she's done and admit her mistakes. And give us wisdom with what to do with her.

Amen.”

36

JUDD
Thompson Jr. and Lionel Washington walked out of their Ohio hideout in daylight for the first time since they had arrived. It was difficult convincing others that it was safe to venture out. When everyone read Dr. Ben-Judah's latest message and heard what was going on around the world, they finally let Judd and Lionel go.

Judd uncovered the Humvee, and the two headed away from the hiding place. They were in a remote area, so it took them a few minutes to reach a town, but when they did, Judd wished they hadn't come.

They crossed a river that bubbled like someone was boiling macaroni. The Humvee was engulfed in white-hot steam, then quickly passed through to the other side. They sped by a brick school, smoke billowing through open windows. Playground equipment lay bent and twisted, melting from the intense heat that neither Lionel nor Judd could feel. To them, it seemed like a hot summer day in Chicago, not the inferno that unbelievers felt.

The sky was cloudless so the sun beat down. The normally light blue heavens reflected an orange-yellow from fires on the ground. Homes and businesses smoked and smoldered, threatening fire at any moment.

Judd saw no airplanes or choppers above them. He wondered what a large airport would look like with fires breaking out on grounded planes.
What an awful smell boiling blood must be in the rivers
, he thought.

In a residential section of town, Lionel pointed out finely manicured lawns that had turned from deep green to brown as the grass went up in flames.

They neared a convenience store and slowed when the roof began to curl under the oppressive heat. Huge windows in front burst, spreading glass all the way to the street. Judd backed up a safe distance as hoses to gas pumps melted. A few minutes later the whole thing exploded.

“How is anybody surviving this?” Lionel said.

Judd shook his head. “I guess they have to get underground. But a lot of people in basements are going to have their houses fall on them.”

Judd saw a fire department's door open, and an engine rushed out. Firefighters in full gear bounced inside as the truck rolled onto the street. But as soon as the engine hit the street, GC flags on the truck burst into flames. Firefighters flailed their arms and struggled against their seat belts. The red truck slowed, its massive tires melting and spreading onto the pavement. First the driver, then the rest abandoned ship, running toward the firehouse. Before they reached the driveway, they burst into flames. One firefighter ran to the back, managed to turn the water on, and pointed the hose toward his coworkers. Boiling water scalded his friends. They screamed and fell before catching on fire.

Lionel trembled. “It's not even the hot part of the day, and people are dying. Any idea how long this will last?”

“We don't know. Let's get back to the hideout and figure out when to head north.”

Mark had learned a long time ago that a person didn't become a believer in God simply because of information, so he had to resist the urge to spell everything out for Clemson. Instead, he asked Clemson about his family, where he had grown up, and his church background.

“I've never been too big on church. My parents went, but I didn't want anything to do with it. I've always felt the Lord knows a person without them having to get dressed up in fancy clothes and making a big show.”

“Did you lose anybody in the disappearances?”

“Yeah, lots of people wound up missing. I lived with my mother back then, taking care of her. She was usually up and cookin' breakfast each morning, listenin' to the radio preachers and singin' gospel songs. But that day it was just as quiet as a graveyard. I went out to the pump house to get some apple butter for my toast, and I checked on her, thinkin' somethin' might have happened. Well, you know what I found. Her bed was empty.”

“What do you think happened?”

Clemson stroked his beard and picked up a picture of an older woman with shoulder-length hair. “To this day, I don't know what to think. I guess it could have been some kind of sign from God, but I don't know.” He paused. “What do you think?”

Mark ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to preach, but he didn't want to hold back either. “My friends and I have found out that God really exists and that he cares for each of us. In fact, he cared so much that he predicted everything that's happening right now.”

“Even this heat wave?”

Mark nodded. “He predicted there would be a ruler that would arise who would lead people away from the truth—”

“Carpathia. I think he's the Antichrist.”

“You're right. And the Bible predicted the worldwide earthquake, the stinging locusts—”

“I hated them things… .”

“—and even that people would reject his truth, in spite of all the miraculous signs.”

“I don't reject anything God does. I believe we all ought to live by the Golden Rule and love others. I've prayed to God before.”

“What did you say?”

Clemson shrugged. “I asked him for food and to help me find a safe place to stay, that kind of thing.”

“Did he answer?”

Clemson wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “Sure did. There's lots of people who've been carted off by the GC from around here or who have turned in people without the mark for the reward. I've been protected.”

Mark drew closer and got down on one knee. “Clemson, it's not enough just to believe that God exists. The Bible says that the demons believe that. Even Carpathia believes in God.”

“I don't think God cares about an old boy like me. He's got plenty to think about without worrying about my troubles.”

“So God's not big enough to care for you? To help you find food and shelter?”

“I don't know… .”

“The reason we came here was to find that little boy in the next room. But I think God had a bonus in mind.” Mark squinted. “Have you been asking God for anything lately?”

“Such as?”

“A sign? Maybe some help? Praying that if God's real, he'd show you and send somebody?”

The man turned white. “How did you know that?”

“I didn't. It was a guess. But since we've found you, I figured God had prepared the way.”

Clemson walked to the other side of the room and sat on a rickety stool. “It gets kind of lonesome. I had a dog that stayed with me, but he died about a year ago. He used to stay right beside me like he was scared of what was going on outside.” His smile faded. “Bein' all alone gets you to thinking, and I guess over the past few months I've been wonderin' whether or not God was up there and if he cared about all the people dyin'. You think he does?”

“I think the reason that all this bad stuff has happened is that God cares more than any of us can imagine. He wants people to come to know him, to ask forgiveness for their sins, even though he knows that most people will spit in his face.”

“Well, if you're so religious why are you still here?”

“One of the reasons he's left us here is so we could reach out to people and help them come to know Jesus personally.” Mark told his story briefly, how he had become a true believer in Jesus after the disappearances and had joined the Young Tribulation Force. “I thought I knew God before all this happened, and I thought a lot of other people were just playing church. Some were. But most of my friends who asked me to go to church with them had something I didn't have.”

“And what was that?”

“They knew they were forgiven by God because of what Jesus did on the cross. You see, he died so that you could live forever with God and so that you could have a relationship with him right now.”

Vicki, Marshall, and Cheryl walked quietly into the room, and Clemson looked up. “And it happened the same way with you people?”

“My parents were these religious nutcases,” Vicki said. “They wanted me to go to church with them and read my Bible. I thought Christians were just people who didn't want to have any fun. Now I know the truth, that you can have
real
life, something that lasts, if you give your life to God.”

Clemson stared at the floor. “From what I can gather, you people came searching for that little boy because one of you ran off with him. How did that happen?”

No one spoke for a long time. Finally, Cheryl folded her arms and her chin quivered. “Just because we believe in God doesn't mean we'll always make the right decisions.” She looked at Vicki and frowned. “I made a big mistake. I can see that now. And there's nothing I can do to make up for it. But I know God is in the business of forgiving people.”

Mark looked at Clemson squarely. “Would you like to ask God to forgive you and ask him to come into your life?”

Clemson rubbed his neck with a hand. “I don't know. This has all come on kind of sudden-like. I need some time.”

“I understand. But we have to head back, and you need to know that if you go outside during the day without God's protection, you'll die. It's as simple as that.”

“I can't make this decision just because I want to live longer.”

“Right,” Mark said. “But there's no guarantee you'll be alive tomorrow. Half the people in the world have already died. Most of those who were stung by locusts cursed God. But you've been given a second chance. All of us have, and we want to urge you to take it right now.”

Tom Fogarty came into the room with Ryan. The child was humming a crude version of “Jesus Loves Me,” and Clemson smiled. “I swear it'd be worth it just to have that kid around. There hasn't been much to smile about the past few years.”

Mark held out his hands, and Ryan came to him. “Jesus once called a small child over to him and put the kid right in front of the people he was talking to.” Mark stood Ryan in front of Clemson, then clicked on the kids' Web site and found the verse he was looking for. “Jesus said, ‘I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.' ”

“What's that mean, exactly?” Clemson said.

“A little kid depends on others. Ryan can't do much on his own. But he trusts us to take care of him, feed him, and help him. God wants you to put that kind of trust in him.”

“I said I didn't want to go to church because it was a show,” Clemson said. “The truth is, most of those people in church knew what kind of things I did. Bad things. And I bet if you knew, you wouldn't be so quick to help me.”

“Every one of us in this room has sinned,” Mark said. He glanced at Cheryl and noticed she had covered her face with her hands. “Because we're sinners, a holy God can't allow us into his presence. That's why he sent his only Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross. It was his sacrifice in our place that guarantees our forgiveness if we'll ask for it.”

“I've always believed in Jesus, that he was God, you know, but I've never really done anything about it.”

“Do it now.” Mark showed Clemson more verses from the Bible that spoke of God's love. The one that seemed to click with the man came from Romans: