Shaken (12 page)

“Don't do this. I blamed myself for what happened, and it almost ate me up.”

“Maybe you are to blame,” Kasim said softly. “If you had loved my sister the way she loved you, she wouldn't be dead.”

Judd stared at Kasim, his heart beating faster. He stood and said, “I'm not taking that.”

Kasim grabbed Judd's arm and pulled him down. “Sit!”

Judd leaned close. “I loved your sister. I'd give anything to have her back. I'd take her place if I could. But you have no right to blame me for what happened.”

“If you loved her, why didn't you get more serious? That's why she was so hurt by what I said. She knew you would never marry her.”

Judd looked away. “Your sister knew me better than I know myself.”

Kasim lowered his voice. “I'm sorry. I know you didn't want anything bad to happen to her.” Kasim was quiet for a while. He rubbed his arms as if he were cold. Finally, he looked at Judd. “We have to talk about what you heard.”

Judd raised an eyebrow.

“Don't play dumb. You saw something or heard something after I came in the other night.”

“The GC will kill you if you go through with this.”

“Who else knows about our plan?”

“No one. I brought up the question with Mr. Stein and the others. My biggest fear isn't that you'll go through with this. It's that you might succeed, and then the GC will be all over this place and anyone who had anything to do with you.”

“The time for fear is past. Now is the time for action.”

“Why? You're talking about killing the—”

Kasim put a finger to his lips. “From now on, refer to this as Operation Gala. As to why, I had followed Carpathia as a god. I hung on every word. Now I see how evil he is and where he is leading the world. I don't want anyone to make the same mistake I did. I want to be the one to stop him.”

“But you know from reading the Bible that it's not going to last.”

Kasim leaned forward. “I don't care. We will do this thing. And whether you like it or not, you are part of our plan.”

Judd put up his hands. “No way. If you want—”

Kasim interrupted. “We will leave you and your friends out of it and make sure there is no possible connection, but you must not tell anyone, not even your closest friend. Do you promise?”

“I can't promise that.”

Kasim gripped Judd's arm again. “In memory of my sister, for the love you had for her, I beg you to keep our secret. Tell no one.”

Judd took a breath and nodded. “All right. I promise.”

Vicki inspected her photo ID as she waited in line at the satellite school. Her hair had grown since Zeke had dyed it, so Lenore and Shelly helped match the color in the picture. Once again she was Jackie Browne. Vicki wondered about the real Jackie. Who was she and how had she died?

Vicki handed the license to a woman at the front of the line and looked around for her friends. They had parked the car and split up, hoping to meet each other inside.

“Did you register ahead?” the woman said.

“No, I just found out about the school the other day.”

The woman shook her head and clicked a computer keyboard. “I need two pieces of ID.”

“The license is all I have left,” Vicki said.

The woman frowned and handed her a form. “Fill this out and get back in line. I can't promise you'll get inside.”

As Conrad had suggested, Vicki gave her address as an apartment building in a nearby town. In the space for the phone number she wrote “doesn't work.” She finished and got back in line. After what seemed like days, she made it to the front again and saw a young woman who looked familiar. Her badge said Marjorie Amherst.

“These are the meeting times,” Marjorie said. “Make sure you get to the first one. Someone very special is going to speak. If you have any language requirements, you can go to the back of the arena. We have radios for translations in just about any language.”

Marjorie handed Vicki a wrist badge that had just come through a special printer. “This is a little warm. You'll need to wear it at all times. You won't be able to get in or out without it.”

Finally, Vicki recognized the girl. She had been the valedictorian at Nicolae High when Judd graduated. Judd had said she worshiped Leon Fortunato. Judd had taken her place at the podium when she became too nervous to speak.

“Didn't you go to Nicolae High?” Vicki said.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“I was at your commencement ceremony.”

Marjorie put out a hand, and Vicki shook it. “That was such a wonderful meeting until … well, you remember what happened.”

“Right, that Judd guy got up and ruined everything.”

Marjorie leaned forward. “There may be more of his kind around, but don't worry. We'll take care of them.”

Vicki winked and smiled. “I'm glad.”

Vicki walked through what looked like a huge metal detector. Global Community Morale Monitors stood nearby. Above the machine were two computer screens. The first flashed each person's name as he or she walked through. The second screen scanned each person for weapons.

Vicki wandered through the concrete hallways looking for any sign of Darrion, Mark, or Shelly. She looked for others who had the mark of the true believer as well but didn't find any. Vicki stopped in her tracks when she noticed a small booth set up near a side entrance. The sign above read Tsion Ben-Judah Material.

Vicki shook her head.
Who would be stupid enough to fall for that?
Since the meeting was about to begin, she went inside to find a seat.

The arena was packed. Some kids threw paper airplanes and even tried bodysurfing through the crowd. Finally, the lights dimmed, and the crowd cheered as the gigantic theater screen flickered to life.

The first image on-screen was a candle flame. A low note sounded and rumbled throughout the darkened arena. As faces from across the country flashed on the screen, a deep-voiced announcer slowly said, “We have come from different places. From different backgrounds. All of us have lost much. Family. Friends. Homes. But we are not without hope.”

Nicolae Carpathia's face appeared on the screen, and immediately the crowd rose and applauded. Some whistled. Others screamed. The music rose and drowned out the cheers. The announcer's voice eclipsed the noise.

“One man. One mission. To bring peace to all people on earth. He is Potentate Nicolae Carpathia.”

Vicki plugged her ears. A girl beside her punched her in the arm and shouted, “Stand up. It's really him!”

Vicki stood. Nicolae walked toward a podium in New Babylon.
Is this live?
she thought. Though he was thousands of miles away, Carpathia seemed to sense the worship. He held up both hands, smiled, then began.

“I greet you in the name of peace,” Nicolae said, and again the audience went wild. Carpathia smiled again and raised his hands for quiet. “I welcome participants in this great movement of young people around the globe. In spite of the mysterious deaths we have seen in the last few weeks, you have chosen to gather and learn about the great mission before us.

“Never in the history of the world have we needed our young people more. In the words of a former president of the United States, I charge you to ask not what the Global Community can do for you—ask what you can do for the Global Community.”

Again the crowd rose and cheered. The girl beside Vicki turned. “Isn't he great?”

“Yeah,” Vicki said.

“If we are to make this world better,” Carpathia continued, “if we are to succeed in our pursuit of worldwide peace, we will do so with your help.”

The camera pulled in tight to Carpathia's face. The man was handsome; there was no question. He was blond, trim, and looked like a movie star. Vicki remembered what Buck Williams had said about Carpathia's ability to use mind control. Was he doing this now? And if so, would believers be affected?

As the potentate continued, his face positioned in the middle of the screen, video clips appeared around him. The scenes showed Carpathia holding babies, speaking at the United Nations, walking through cheering crowds, and consulting with other world leaders.

“The Global Community has brought a new ideal to all. Tolerance. We seek to get along with each other, to appreciate differences instead of fight about them. We embrace each other and accept these differences, for in the end they can make us stronger.”

The music switched to a minor key, and Carpathia seemed to get more intense. “However, there are those who would oppose our peaceful objectives. People such as the two who inflict plague after deadly plague on the world.”

The screen showed Eli and Moishe, the two witnesses at the Wailing Wall. The arena filled with boos and hisses.

“These evil men and those who follow their teaching must be stopped. And I guarantee you, they will be. I will deal with them at the upcoming celebration in Israel. There will be an end to the plagues, drought, famine, and bloody water. When I have dealt with them, we will see the end of rebellion and revolt against the most powerful and loving government that has ever existed.”

“So much for tolerance,” Vicki muttered.

But no one heard her. The music grew with Nicolae's speech and built to a screaming climax. Kids stood, fists raised in the air.

“I invite you all to join us, either in person or by way of these meetings, for a spectacle unparalleled in human history. The Gala in Jerusalem will be a supreme celebration of peace and tolerance.”

Nicolae raised his hands, and the crowd stood as one. Vicki wondered if every arena where this was being seen had done the same.

“I give you my blessing and my full devotion. I will not stop in my quest, for I have been given complete authority. And I now give you this sacred duty. Go into all nations and tell everyone that the true path to peace and understanding lies with the Global Community. Obey what I have told you, and you can be sure I will be with you always. Even unto the end.”

12

VICKI
searched for Darrion, Mark, and Shelly after the morning session. She found them at the prearranged meeting place by a food court.

“Can you believe that guy used the words of Jesus?” Shelly whispered.

“Those are some of the most sacred words to every believer,” Mark said. “He twisted them to make it sound like he's god.”

“If there was any doubt as to who he really is,” Darrion said, “there's no doubt now.”

Vicki told them about meeting Marjorie and what she had said about taking care of believers.

“What's she talking about?” Darrion said.

Mark shrugged. His phone rang and he answered.

“Hey, Conrad, what's up? … You're kidding. When did you notice? … I can't believe it. All right, we'll keep our eyes open.”

“What is it?” Vicki said.

“Conrad's been up since we left. He says they can't find Melinda.”

“Oh no,” Vicki said, “you don't think …”

“Let's spread out and see if we can find her.”

Judd and the others heard about the start of the satellite school but didn't dare go near the local gathering at Teddy Kollek Stadium. They tried to find a feed of the broadcast on the Internet but couldn't.

“That must be one of the ways to get people to come,” Sam said. “They can't see it any other way.”

“They want to get them in the door so they can count how many potential Morale Monitors they can sign up,” Lionel said.

Judd felt torn about the situation with Kasim and Jamal. When he saw them, he felt like leaving the room. He had promised not to talk with anyone about their plan, but he felt he had to tell someone.

Lionel, Sam, and Judd helped Yitzhak and Mr. Stein with the daily duties. On any given day there might be as many as twenty witnesses staying in the house or as few as five. Preparing meals, changing beds, and cleaning kept the three busy.

In his spare time, particularly late at night, Judd searched the Internet for the latest news and Tsion Ben-Judah's postings. He tried to keep up to date with what was going on at the schoolhouse, but the e-mails had been few since the coming of the horsemen. Judd read Tsion's latest message, then clicked on the kids' Web site,
www.theunderground-online.com
. Mark had done another good job of taking Tsion's words and making them understandable for people of any age.