Shaken (7 page)

“This used to be my favorite thing to do on vacation,” Shelly said. “My mom would give me a few dollars and send me to a store next to the hotel. I'd get all kinds of soda and junk food, then stay up all night watching television.” Vicki smiled. “We used to have fun at the vending machines. I'd take my little sister, and we'd get pop and candy. Sometimes the machines would give us more than we'd paid for, and we felt like kings.”

Shelly flicked on the television as Vicki spread their food on one of the beds. Many of the channels carried updates on the incredible world situation.

“Scientists are still speculating on the cause of this worldwide death plague,” one news anchor said.

“Hundreds of thousands are reported dead; millions have been sickened by the mysterious smoke that seemingly came out of nowhere.”

“They can't see the horses,” Shelly said.

Vicki shook her head. “Somehow God made them visible to us but blinded unbelievers.”

Reports from overseas showed horrific scenes in major cities on every continent. People lay dead in the streets. One amateur video showed a man standing on a street corner in Brussels. Smoke rose in the distance, and people ran in fear. One second the man stood by a lamppost. The next instant he was flying through the air, smashing into a huge window. They showed the video again in slow motion, but there were no clues as to how the man had moved so quickly.

One expert guessed that the earth was going through “a strange gravitational change, which makes some areas at risk for life-threatening events.”

“They don't have a clue,” Vicki said.

Shelly tried other channels. Those that weren't showing the news were disgusting. One program featured a man in a desperate search for a family member who had been buried alive. A ticking clock was positioned at the bottom of the screen. At first, Vicki thought it was a movie.

“This is real,” Shelly said in disbelief.

“Turn to something else.”

Shelly switched to the next channel. A man in black robes and a mask stood inside a five-pointed star. It looked like he was praying.

“Turn it off,” Vicki said.

Shelly did. “What was that?”

“Exactly what Tsion Ben-Judah predicted. People love themselves and their sin too much. Tsion said we'd see more drug use, murder, gross sexual stuff, and …”

“And what?”

“I think that guy was leading people in a prayer, but it wasn't to God. I think he was praying to demons.”

Shelly shivered.

“The other channels are probably worse.”

The girls lay in the dark, talking and trying to fall asleep, but the images they had seen on television were too much.

When the sun came up, Vicki and Shelly dressed and put their things in the car. They waited until they thought they heard Conrad moving around and knocked.

The kids ate some snacks and got back on the road. Vicki sat in front and let Shelly have the backseat so she could rest.

“You guys didn't sleep?” Conrad said.

Vicki shook her head. “How much longer until we're at the schoolhouse?”

“If we push hard enough, we could be there tonight.”

Judd awoke to a quiet house. Yitzhak had asked everyone who was staying there to keep as quiet as possible out of respect for Nada's family and Sam. Judd found Nada's mother at the kitchen table alone. She pulled out a chair and said, “Sit.”

The woman had said very little in Judd's presence since he had met her. He wondered if it was cultural or if she was ashamed of her English. Judd said, “All this time I've never known your first name.”

The woman smiled. “Lina.”

Judd nodded. “I read Nada's note. Did she write it in jail?”

“Yes. She told me a little about her concerns and said she wanted to talk to you when we were released. I told her she should write down her feelings so she would remember everything. I never dreamed she would die.” Lina looked away and closed her eyes.

“I don't know if she was right,” Judd said. “Maybe I was concerned about what your husband thought about us—”

“What about her belief that there is someone else?”

Judd sighed. “I have friends back home that I met after the Rapture. But I'm not sure—”

Lina put a hand on Judd's shoulder. “Forgive me. I do not like to give personal advice when it's not asked for.”

“Go ahead.”

“Nada spoke very highly of you. She said you were a gentleman in every way. But she had a gift for knowing things. The longer you two knew each other, the more she felt like there was someone standing between you and her. If this is true, you must return to your home and find out.”

Judd ran a hand through his hair. The only person he was remotely interested in was Vicki, and they had fought so much. He didn't know what to think.

“Jamal and I agree that you should stay here as long as you need to. Frankly, it may take a while to get back to the States with the judgment that has come.”

“Does your husband know about this?”

Lina shook her head. “All he knows is that he has lost his only daughter. She was such a joy to him. When she was a little girl, he would take her everywhere. When he was at work, she would wait at the window until afternoon watching for him. It was very difficult for him when she became interested in you.”

“That's why I tried to be careful. The trip to New Babylon was totally Nada's idea.”

Lina smiled. “I understand. Even when she was small, she had wild ideas. She collected kangaroos. Stuffed. Porcelain. She cut out pictures of kangaroos and taped them to the wall of her bedroom. It was no surprise to me that she disappeared one day. We found her walking on the street, several blocks from our house, with a suitcase full of clothes and her kangaroos.”

“Where was she going?”

“Australia. She had read an article in the newspaper that said there are many kangaroos there. She said she was prepared to take a bus if she got too tired.”

Judd laughed out loud. That was Nada all right. Stowing away in a Global Community airplane was a piece of cake compared to her trip to Australia. “How old was she?”

“Seven, I think,” Lina said, the tears starting again. “I believe you when you say it was her idea.”

“I'm not sure how soon we'll go home. So if it's okay with your family then, I'd like to stay here awhile longer until we've arranged the flight.”

Lina hugged Judd. “May God bless you and keep you safe.”

Mark Eisman was excited to read anything Tsion Ben-Judah had posted on his Web site, but when Tsion sent him a personal note late one night, Mark was thrilled. The file attached was Tsion's latest message to fellow believers around the world.

I am sending you this a few hours before this hits the Web site,
Tsion wrote.
Please work your magic to make it understandable to young people
.

Mark went to work and was almost finished when he heard Darrion sound an alarm. “There are headlights coming up the road!”

“Maybe it's Vicki and the others,” Mark said, rushing to the balcony for a better look. Lenore wasn't far behind. Tolan cried downstairs.

“It's not them,” Charlie shouted from the kitchen. “It looks like a small car. Could be GC!”

“Everybody to the basement,” Mark yelled. “We take no chances.”

As the others ran downstairs, Mark unplugged the laptop and grabbed the important files.

“What's all the commotion?” Janie said, rubbing her eyes.

“Unknown car's coming up the road. Get to the hideout.” “Not me. I'm not going to that dungeon again.”

“Fine. If it's the GC, you'll be the first one they catch.”

Janie scrambled down the steps behind Mark. They were almost to the basement when Mark heard the car's horn. “The signal! It's Vicki!”

The kids rushed upstairs and greeted their friends. Vicki took Tolan in her arms and squeezed him tightly.

“You're getting so big!”

Janie headed back to her room while everyone else settled in the kitchen.

“Don't you want to hear what happened?” Vicki said.

“Tell me in the morning,” Janie said.

Vicki found Melinda and gave her a hug as she squeezed in with the others. She couldn't believe she was finally back among her friends.

Conrad explained what had happened to the cell phone and the computer. Shelly described what had happened with the bandits in Colorado and how their van had been totaled.

The newest believer, a girl named Jenni, laughed and said, “I'll take the car over the van any day.”

“Did they take your money?” Lenore said.

Vicki described the interaction with the three thieves. The kids gasped when they heard the story of the horses and riders and what they had done to the thieves.

Vicki took over and went through many of the stops they had made across the country. She wanted to tell the others about Jeff Williams, but she knew she couldn't. “We met a relative of someone in the Trib Force,” Vicki said. “We need to pray for this guy and his dad.”

“Who is it?” Darrion said.

“I promised I wouldn't say.”

Mark excused himself and returned a few minutes later with a stack of pages an inch thick.

“What's that?” Vicki said.

“Read it,” Mark said. “It's feedback.”

Vicki read the first page but couldn't continue. She passed the stack to Shelly.

“These are messages from people we met?” Shelly said.

“All but the last few pages,” Mark said. “Those are more requests for you to come teach.”

Vicki took the stack back and glanced through the pages. She recognized most of the names. Each person had a story to tell about how God had used Vicki, Conrad, and Shelly in their lives. “I don't know what to say,” Vicki finally said.

“You can read those tomorrow,” Mark said, pulling out another printout. “This is even more exciting.”

“What is it?” Melinda said.

“Tsion Ben-Judah's latest message to believers.” Mark looked at his watch. “It's supposed to be released on the Web in a few minutes. But I have an advance copy. And you're not going to believe what's in here.”

7

VICKI
wanted to sleep, but she wanted to hear what Tsion had said even more. As Mark read the letter, changed slightly for younger readers, she felt like she was taking a drink of cold water after a long journey across the desert.

“My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, my heart is heavy as I write to you. While the 144,000 evangelists raised up by God are seeing millions come to Christ, the oneworld religion continues to become more powerful and— I must say it—more revolting. Preach it from the mountaintops and into the valleys: There is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus
.

“The deadly demon locusts prophesied in Revelation 9 finally died out after torturing millions. Many who were bitten at the end of that plague have recovered only three months ago
.

“While many gave their lives to God after seeing this horrible judgment, most have become even more set in their ways. It should have been obvious to the leader of the Enigma Babylon One World Faith that followers of that religion suffered everywhere in the world. But we followers of Christ, the so-called rebels—enemies of tolerance— were spared.”

Darrion shook her head. “Makes you wonder why anyone wouldn't believe the truth about God.”

Vicki glanced at Melinda. The girl looked down at the table as Mark continued.

“We can be thankful that in this time of turmoil, our beloved preachers in Jerusalem continue to prophesy and win converts to Christ. They do this in that formerly holy city that now must be compared to Egypt and Sodom
.

“By now you know that the sixth Trumpet Judgment, or the second woe of Revelation 9, has begun. I was correct in assuming the 200 million horsemen are spiritual and not physical beings. But I was wrong to think they would be invisible. I have spoken with people who have seen these beings kill by fire and smoke and sulfur as the Scripture predicts. Yet unbelievers charge we are making this up.”