Hunted (45 page)

Westin told her and Judd that the Tribulation Force members were free to come and go as long as they were careful to plan their travel into time zones that kept them in daylight as long as possible. There was news that the polar ice caps were melting faster than at any time in history, and huge weather systems threatened the coasts on every continent. Many coastlines were already buried under massive floods.

“What are you doing after this assignment?” Vicki said.

“We're trying to coordinate our planes and storehouses. Chang Wong in New Babylon has it all graphed out. If this heat wave continues, we'll have enough food and supplies for believers for at least a year. That's what we hope.”

The plane touched down on a runway so short Vicki thought they were going to run off the end. Westin led them off the plane and secured the door, though there was no reason to think anyone would get to it before they returned.

When they were on the ground, Vicki saw the devastation of a more populated city for the first time. What appeared to be million-dollar homes looked like the remains of old campfires. Fencing around the airport had melted from the intense heat.

Vicki noticed a creepy silence. In the woods she had sensed the lack of animals during the day, but here, where there should have been traffic and honking and buses, the only sound was the occasional collapse of a building or the crackling of fires.

“Follow me,” Westin said. He led them to a concrete parking garage. “We haven't used this airfield as a base of operations, but I'm willing to bet there's a vehicle—” He paused, staring into the distance. “Would you look at that?”

Vicki glanced to her right at a small bus sitting in front of what was left of the main terminal building. It looked like the kind of bus used to transport disabled children. She was shocked that in the midst of the heat, the vehicle hadn't caught fire.

“Is this your answer to prayer?” Judd said as they ran to the bus.

“Works for me,” Westin said.

They climbed in and Westin chuckled. “Even has a full tank of gas.”

Though they had found transportation quickly, finding the library proved to be more difficult. It was nearly 3:30 local time when they finally pulled close to the structure. Judd said he had worried that the building wouldn't be there, but it still stood.

Vicki was glad to retrace some of Judd's steps. She had heard about the library and pictured it in her mind, but seeing it in person made her feel more a part of his story.

Judd opened the front door and called for his friends. There was no answer. “They're probably downstairs. Come on.”

Judd took the stairs two at a time and bounded through the lower floor of the darkened library. He flipped on the light switch, but nothing happened.

“They said they were having power problems,” Westin said.

Vicki was immediately hit by the smell of old books. She hadn't spent that much time in the library as a kid, but the times when she had to do a research project or look up something on the Internet had been fun. Each time she walked through her library in Mount Prospect, she wondered why she didn't read more.

Westin snagged Judd's shirt and pulled him back toward the stairwell. “Something's not right.”

“There can't be GC here,” Judd said. “The building would have—”

Someone moaned from behind the stacks of books. Vicki was startled when she heard pounding on the window upstairs. The three moved back up the steps cautiously, and Vicki gasped when she saw a face at the window.

Judd hit the front door and rushed outside.

Judd grabbed the leader of the group's hands and shook furiously. He introduced Vicki and Westin while the man caught his breath.

“Two nights ago … the GC came … we only had a few seconds to get out the back,” the man gasped.

“Where is everyone?” Judd said.

“Scattered. Some of us have hidden in a burned-out building a few blocks away. We prayed you'd come.”

“And there are Peacekeepers hiding downstairs in the library?”

“Some are just citizens, but others are officers. I think they have guns.”

“I don't get it,” Vicki said. “If everybody in there is loyal to Carpathia, why hasn't the building burned?”

Westin pursed his lips. “Let's get the rest of your group and get out of here.”

The man led them to three separate sites and gathered more than twenty people into the bus. All were overjoyed to see Judd, glad they wouldn't have to spend another night hiding. One of the last to be picked up was a woman in her forties who scanned the bus and turned to Westin. “We can't leave yet. Howard's not here.”

“Who's Howard?” Judd said.

“My son. You probably met him when you were here.”

“I remember a young guy who argued—”

The woman nodded. “That's him. I don't know if he made it out of the library. I haven't seen him since that night.”

“Where else could he be?” Judd said.

“Wait a minute,” Vicki said. “If the library is still standing, maybe Howard's hiding there.”

Westin looked at his watch. “Listen, people, we're running out of time. If we don't get in the air soon—”

“We have to try,” Vicki said, glancing at Judd. “If the GC find him tonight—”

“Who's to say they haven't already found him and chopped off his head?” a man behind them said.

Howard's mother put a hand to her mouth and started crying.

“Don't worry,” Vicki said. She looked at Judd. “We are going to try, right?”

Judd motioned for Westin to move outside, and the man followed. “I can't pull rank on you because I don't have any, but I'd like to go back and see if this kid is inside the library. Vicki's got a hunch, and usually she's right.”

“Don't let your judgment get clouded,” Westin said. “If we get caught out after dark, we could jeopardize the whole Tribulation Force. If we're in the air, the GC could launch a missile or track us with radar.”

Judd looked at his watch. “Let us go to the library, and you head to the plane. If we're not there in an hour, leave.”

“I can't do that. And you know if Captain Steel or anybody else hears about this, you won't go on another mission.”

Judd looked at Vicki, who had her arm draped around Howard's mother. He jumped back inside the bus and called for quiet. “Does anyone know of a vehicle near here?”

An older man raised a hand. “I have an old Beetle in a garage a couple of blocks that way. It was still there yesterday when I checked.”

“Where are the keys?” Judd said.

The man fished in his pocket and threw them at Judd. “Go left at that stop sign, and then two blocks. It's the only garage still standing.”

“You can't do this,” Westin said as Judd raced down the stairs.

Judd turned. “One hour. We'll meet you at the airstrip.” He looked at the distraught woman. “And don't worry, ma'am. If your son's there, we'll find him.”

“Bless you,” she said.

The air brakes sounded behind them while Judd and Vicki hurried toward the garage.

“You think we can make it in an hour?” Vicki said.

“If we don't, it's going to be a long night.”

42

THE CAR
sputtered and coughed when Judd turned the key. The Volkswagen wasn't just old—it was ancient, with rust spots on the body, balding tires, and an inch of dust. Vicki coughed as she jumped in the passenger seat. Judd tried to start the engine again, but it wheezed and shook.

“Maybe we should walk to the library,” Vicki said.

“We'll never make it back to the airport in time,” Judd said, pumping the gas pedal. He turned the ignition again, and blue smoke poured from the exhaust pipe. He revved the engine, put the car in reverse, and backed out.

The car chugged and clunked its way through the smoky streets, leaving a trail of smoke of its own. Judd glanced at Vicki and smiled. “You think the GC will stop us for polluting the air?”

Vicki gritted her teeth. “You're doing this for me, aren't you?”

“In a way, but I'm doing it for Howard and his mother too.”

“I saw Westin's face. If we don't get back to that plane in time we're in big trouble, right?”

Judd made a sharp turn, and the tires squealed. “This is the right thing to do, and not just because it was your idea. We're going to find Howard and get to the plane. Besides, Westin owes me.”

Judd parked on what had been the lawn of the library. All the grass had burned, along with the flowers and shrubbery that surrounded the building.

“How do you want to do this?” Vicki said.

“We don't have time for strategy,” Judd said.

“If there are GC here and they have guns, they'll use them.”

Judd scratched his chin. “Maybe we can make them think there are more than two of us.”

“It doesn't matter how many they think we are—if they start shooting, we're in trouble.”

Vicki already noticed a change in the way Judd handled things. In the old days, he would have simply rushed inside without talking with anyone. He might have dismissed the idea of coming back altogether. But something had changed, and it made Vicki want to follow him inside.

Judd stopped, picked up a huge rock, and pointed to the tinted glass below them. “That's the stairwell. Grab a rock and see if you can break that glass.”

Judd's first throw glanced off and landed below. Vicki moved for a better angle and heaved a chunk of concrete. The glass crashed and fell inside the stairwell.

“Good job,” Judd said, picking up another stone. A minute later the stairwell was filled with glass, and the sun reached the fire doors below.

Judd climbed down the small hill and carefully crawled through one of the broken windows. He reached back to help Vicki through, then propped open the fire doors with two rocks. Immediately Vicki heard voices whispering inside. A woman was crying, and someone tried to shush her.

Vicki moved into the basement and thought about the GC's perspective. They were trying to stay out of the fire, and here were people walking through it as though it was nothing. “They must be terrified,” she whispered.

Judd pointed to the opposite end of the building. “I saw two windows down on that end. There must be an office or something. The more light we can get in here, the better.”

Vicki nodded, grabbed two rocks, and hurried in the shadows to the other end of the room. Judd was right. A sign on a door at the end said
Library Director
. Vicki tried the doorknob, and to her surprise the door opened. She hurled stones at the window behind the desk, and the glass shattered, letting in some of the deadly heat.

Another crash on the other side of the library and a shaft of light lit the room. Judd walked into the light.

“What do you want with us?” a man yelled, his voice full of fear.

“Why are you trying to kill us?” a woman sobbed.

Vicki froze and strained to see the people. “It's getting really hot,” someone said.

“We don't want to hurt you,” Judd said. Vicki had never heard this voice of Judd's. It was full of authority, though he wasn't yelling. “Throw out your weapons, and we'll get what we need and leave.”

“Don't do it,” someone whispered. “It's a trick.”

“That blacked-out window behind you will come down if you don't slide your weapons out now.”

Vicki held her breath.

Several guns clattered on the floor. Judd gathered them up cautiously and returned to the shadows. “All right, step forward and come to the front of the stacks.”

“He's going to shoot us!” a woman said.

“You won't be harmed. Step forward.”

“The sun's too hot,” a man said.

Judd kicked the rocks from the stair doors and let them close. The room darkened, and several people stepped forward. “Sit,” Judd said.

Vicki counted twelve people, four of them wearing Global Community uniforms. They sat in front of the bookshelves, sweating and breathing heavily, eyes darting from Judd to Vicki.