Shaken
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Shaken
is a special edition compilation of the following Left Behind®: The Kids titles:
#23: Horesemen of Terror
copyright © 2002 by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. All rights reserved.
#24: Uplink from the Underground
copyright © 2002 by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. All rights reserved.
#25: Death at the Gala
copyright © 2003 by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph copyright © Corbis Images. All rights reserved.
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is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Some Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Designed by Jackie Noe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shaken / Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye; with Chris Fabry.
p. cm.
Summary: Special edition compilation of the following three previously published works: Horsemen of terror; Uplink from the underground; Death at the gala.
ISBN 1-4143-0268-1 (hc)
[1. End of the worldâFiction. 2. Christian lifeâFiction.] I. Jenkins, Jerry B. Horsemen of terror. II. Jenkins, Jerry B. Uplink from the underground. III. Jenkins, Jerry B. Death at the gala. IV. LaHaye, Tim F. V. Fabry, Chris, date. VI. Title.
PZ7.J4138Sh 2005
[Fic]âdc22
2004013512
Printed in the United States of America
10 09 08 07 06 05
9Â Â Â 8Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 1
Contents
VICKI
Byrne stared at the man. She couldn't believe he was actually Buck Williams's brother.
“I live with my dad not far from here,” Jeff said.
“We've tried to keep the business going, but it's been tough.”
“Business?”
“Dad owns a trucking company. We bring fuel into the state, mostly from Oklahoma and Texas. At least we used to. With everything that's happened, we're just scraping by.”
Jeff explained that he had worked his way up in the family business and now handled the day-to-day operations. “Dad always thought Buck would come back and help us out, but he went away to school and we haven't seen much of him since. He wasn't here when Mom died. ⦔
As others left the house, Jeff moved toward the door. “Better get back. Nice talking to you.”
“Wait,” Vicki said. “You must have come here for a reason.”
“I heard about this church from a guy. This is only my second time.”
“Do you have any other family?”
Jeff looked away and took a deep breath. “A wife and two children. They're gone.”
“I'm so sorry,” Vicki said.
“My wife was picking up our kids at a retreat in the mountains. There was an accident. Her car flipped. The state police never found her body, just her clothes.”
“The night of the disappearances?”
Jeff nodded. “They found a late-night snack burning on the stove and a hundred sets of pajamas, but my kids were gone. I took the four-wheel drive up there to see for myself. Then I went to the cabin where all those kids were.”
Jeff sat and put his face in his hands. “Thought I was over this. I told Dad I was finally moving on, but hearing you brought it all back.”
“What was your wife like?” Vicki said.
“Sharon and I had our problems before the kids came along. We even split up for a while but got back together after she got religion. She really changed. Losing her and the kids has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through.”
“Have you talked to the pastor here about this?”
Jeff glanced at the man. “Dad would have a fit if he knew I was here. He doesn't agree with Buck that we're not Christians.”
“What do you think?”
Jeff looked away.
“Your wife and children didn't die that night,” Vicki said.
“Buck talked to my dad and told us his theory.”
“It's not a theory. The Bible is coming true all around us every day.⦔
“At first I thought this whole thing was like the last judgment of God. But if he took all the good people and left the bad ones, why were my dad and me left behind?
What did we do to deserve this? Earthquakes, meteors, and stinging bugs. This can't be from God.”
“God cares about you, Jeff. He gave his life for you, and now you've been given a second chance to follow him.”
Jeff scowled. “Promise me something.”
“What?”
“Don't ever tell Buck or anybody else that you saw me here.”
Vicki glanced at Conrad and Shelly, who seemed to be listening. “We won't. But we'll be here another couple of days. There are answers that you and your father should hear.”
Jeff shook his head and walked toward the door. He turned and said, “Leave my dad out of this.”
Conrad, Shelly, and the pastor joined Vicki. The pastor said he had seen Jeff only once before. “I tried to talk with him myself, but he slipped out before I had the chance.”
“Buck has tried to get through to him, hasn't he?” Conrad said.
“Sounds like they haven't had a very good relationship,” Vicki said.
“Maybe we should try to find him and his dad,” Shelly said.
The pastor shook his head. “I don't want to scare him away. Let's pray and ask God to work on him.”
Judd listened as Sam told more about being questioned by the Global Community. Sam didn't know for sure why he had been released, but he thought his father might have been involved. Plus, he had spoken so much about God that many prisoners had believed in Jesus. The most troubling part of Sam's story was that Nada and her family had been taken into custody. Judd and Lionel pulled Sam aside and asked to hear the whole story.
“The guards brought Kasim and Jamal inside and treated them roughly,” Sam said. “Kasim got the worst of it. They put them in separate cells so they wouldn't be able to talk. Kasim was near me.”
“Did Kasim talk with you?” Judd said.
Sam nodded. “Kasim wanted to be careful. His lip was bloody and he was in a lot of pain. But he whispered that the GC came a few nights ago. Kasim and Nada slipped out a window and thought they had gotten away, but a squad car cornered them in an alley.”
“How could the GC have found them?” Lionel said.
“Kweesa,” Judd said.
Sam nodded again. “Kasim told me about calling his old girlfriend in New Babylon. He was sure she was the one who gave his family away. They probably traced Kasim's call.”
“Then the GC know who he is,” Judd said.
“Kasim thinks they'll try him as a deserter,” Sam said. “And you can bet the deputy commander recognized Jamal and the rest of the family as soon as he saw them.”
Judd put a hand to his forehead. “You're right. Woodruff was questioning them in the apartment when he got stung. He'll fry them.”
“We have to get them out,” Sam said. “Our only chance is my dad. We should pray for him to believe the truth and then somehow release them.”
“There might be another way,” Judd said.
Mark Eisman tried calling Vicki throughout the day but didn't connect until late evening. Vicki said the trip to Arizona had been interesting, but she wouldn't go into detail.
“A lot's been happening here too,” Mark said. “Have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“They're starting up school again.”
“What school?”
“The Global Community Department of Education made a statement today. They're setting up satellite schools around the country. I just heard a couple days ago about the final decision.”
“Let me guess,” Vicki said. “Carl found out about it in Florida.”
“Bingo,” Mark said. “He was going through some top secret GC files and found a memo from the GC's top guy in education, Dr. Neal Damosa. He's handpicked by Carpathia for the United North American States.”