Arrived (4 page)

Fulcire had chosen to be photographed near a small lake behind one of the many GC headquarters. A fountain sprayed water into the air, and Vicki couldn't help smirking as he beamed at the applause of the press corps.

“Looks like he's got water shooting out his head,” Zeke said.

“Wouldn't hurt his brain any,” Conrad said. “He probably doesn't have one.”

“Let's keep it quiet,” Marshall said.

Fulcire had no notes, charts, or graphs. He simply stood at the podium and smiled. “What a beautiful day.” Laughter rippled through the crowd. “And every day is a great day to serve the risen lord Carpathia.”

There were enough followers of Nicolae present to break into a hearty rendition of “Hail Carpathia,” but Fulcire sang off-key.

When they finished, Fulcire grabbed the microphone and began pacing. “The end of this unnatural weather phenomenon comes at a most important time. We believe the United North American States can and will become the most loyal region in all the world. And to do that, we need the help of citizens who have already given so much.”

“I think I know what he's leading up to.” Janie smirked. “And it won't be good for believers.”

Fulcire beamed, as if Carpathia were watching. “Since we can once again move around in daylight hours, we would like you to report any citizen who has not yet complied with receiving the mark of our lord and risen king. Anyone discovering an unmarked civilian will receive triple the reward previously offered.”

“Great, the price for our heads just went up,” Conrad said.

“Think of all the Nicks we could make if we turned everybody here in,” Zeke said.

Mark stuck his head in the room and motioned for Vicki. “You have an answer to your message to Tsion.”

Vicki hurried to the computer on the other side of the room and pulled up Tsion's e-mail. That the man would answer her personally excited Vicki.

Vicki
,

Thank you for your question about what will happen in the coming kingdom. As we draw nearer to that time, now only a year away, many people have the same concerns, so you have spurred me to teach more about this here in Petra
.

Let me quickly give you some thoughts. Jesus said that people would be “marrying and giving in marriage” during the Tribulation just as they did during the days before the Flood. See Matthew 24:37-39. But as you know, many who become believers after the Rapture will be martyred for the cause of Christ and will be resurrected after the Glorious Appearing. Many others will survive the Tribulation and be “the sheep” Jesus referred to in Matthew 25:31-40 who go into the kingdom to populate the Millennium, or thousand-year reign of Christ. These, of course, will raise their children and possibly help with the raising of other children who survive but are under the age of accountability when Christ returns
.

The story of the rich man in hell and Lazarus who was a believer—see Luke 16:19-31—is quite clear. In the next life we will still recognize not only those we knew on earth, but as Lazarus, he recognized Abraham who had lived hundreds of years before him. Even those in torment recognized those in paradise. That would indicate we all will recognize one another in the next life. Remember, Paul said, “For me to depart and be with Christ is far better.” So we will have an even better relationship then than we do now
.

I know you still have Judd on your mind, and believe me, we are praying for you both. Whether God allows you to marry or not isn't the question. The question is, will you trust him for your future? God can use you in the kingdom after his second coming, or he can use you in heaven. Trust him to be faithful
.

Yours in Christ
,

Tsion Ben-Judah

As Kruno Fulcire finished his press conference, a wave of hope washed over Vicki like a waterfall. Judd was in God's hands. Their possible marriage was too. And all believers from Wisconsin to the remote parts of the world. No matter how much money the Global Community offered or how creative the GC could get trying to catch unmarked civilians, the believers still had God's protection.

Judd watched the screens carefully for any sign of Rainer and Klaus. He hoped they would come to their senses and turn around, but Judd gasped when a manhole cover moved in the middle of the street a block away. Weapons plopped on the ground, and Rainer and Klaus crawled onto the street.

Helga gritted her teeth. “What in the world are they doing?”

A man to Judd's left shook his head. “Rainer likes to say, ‘Life is a temporary assignment.' ”

“He's going to make it a lot more temporary if he doesn't get out of there quickly,” Helga said.

Rainer and Klaus moved behind a burned-out car. Automatic weapons fire sounded, and the two were up and running. The GC squad, at least a dozen officers strong, rounded the corner. Rainer fired over their heads.

“He could have killed several of them,” Judd said. “Why didn't he?”

“Maybe he's not trying to kill them,” Westin said. “Maybe he's trying to get them away from us.”

Helga quickly switched to another camera showing that the area around the safe house was clear. She pointed to Judd and Westin and looked at the older man to her left. “Take them to number two.”

“We're not leaving,” Westin said. “We'll stay and fight with the rest of you.”

She looked hard at him. “I'm not arguing. You're the only pilot here and this guy—” she pointed to Judd— “has a fiancée waiting. Go.”

The older man led them to the secret exit, and they climbed into a large tunnel. The man stuck out his hand. “Gunther Carr.”

They walked west, away from the house, through stagnant water. Gunfire erupted again above them, and GC officers' yells echoed in the cavern.

“What's number two?” Judd whispered.

“An underground bunker,” Gunther said. “It's dark and stinks down there, but at least you'll be safe.”

More gunfire. Judd prayed for Rainer and Klaus. He had no idea if he would ever see them again.

4

JUDD
and Westin spent the night alone in the underground chamber. They were anxious to know what had happened to their friends but didn't dare go into the tunnel. The maze of pipes leading from their area made it nearly impossible to go back without someone leading them.

“What happens if the GC find the house and everybody's killed?” Judd said.

Westin shrugged and paced the room like a nervous animal. Gunther had shown them where to find food and flashlights, but they felt trapped with no contact with the outside world. Judd's phone didn't work in the enclosed space, and there was no computer hookup. Westin found a small television stashed in a cabinet, but it didn't work.

“Great, we can't even hear the GC's lies,” Westin said.

After spending the evening praying for their new friends, Judd tried to get some sleep. Finally he sat up. Westin was reading something by the fading glow of a flashlight. “What do you think about our chances of getting out of New Babylon alive?”

Westin yawned. “We improved our chances by coming in here, but I don't like the fact that we let those people fight for us.”

“What are you reading?”

Westin held up a weathered New Testament and Psalms he had discovered. “I found this psalm about how God heals the brokenhearted, counts the stars, supports the humble, and feeds the animals. Then I came to this:

“The strength of a horse does not impress him; how puny in his sight is the strength of a man. Rather, the Lord's delight is in those who honor him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

“That's good,” Judd said.

Westin ran a hand through his hair. “You know, when I believed what you and Lionel told me, there was part of me that thought I was pretty hot stuff. Being a pilot for the rich and famous, able to get you guys access wherever I wanted … Even when I started working with the Tribulation Force, I sort of felt like I was doing God a favor.”

Judd smiled. “I know what you mean.”

“And then I read a passage like this. If I really want to make God happy, I'll just trust him and let him use me however he wants. If it means I'm flying supplies, that's great. If it means I'm holed up in this dark, stinky septic tank, that's okay.”

Judd nodded. “The biggest hurdle is believing God is real. Then you have to believe he really loves you and died to forgive you. Once I got that through my head, it was a lot easier to trust him, though it's not always easy.”

It was after midnight when Judd heard footsteps echo in the tunnel. The door opened and Gunther entered with the rest of the group. One by one they crowded inside, some collapsing on the floor. Rainer and Klaus weren't with them.

“We need to stay here for a while,” Gunther said. “The Peacekeepers are back, but we're hoping they won't find our hideout.”

“What about Rainer and Klaus?” Westin said.

“They're dead.”

“But not before they took a half dozen GC with them,” a younger man said.

“What happened?” Judd said.

“Rainer and Klaus tried to get the GC to chase them away from the safe house,” Gunther said. “It worked for a while, but then the GC surrounded them. After a firefight, the GC won.”

“We're kicking ourselves for not going to their rescue,” Helga said. “We should have at least used the remote guns.”

“You know that wouldn't have done any good,” Gunther said.

Judd thought of Rainer's wife. They were together now, reunited in heaven.

“Why didn't you set off the booby traps?” Westin said. Helga sat forward and took some beef jerky from a tin. “We left the entrance on automatic. If the GC find it and crawl inside, the whole place will go up. All the evidence will be destroyed.”

Vicki waited for word from Judd and agonized when she didn't hear anything. She spent the entire night waiting by the computer, dialing Judd's number, but getting nothing.

As the sun rose the next morning, she lay in bed, thinking of Tsion's e-mail. Something he had said was running around in her head. Between that and news of Judd, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep.

“Thinking about Judd?” Shelly whispered from the cot next to Vicki's.

“I'm thinking about a lot of stuff,” Vicki said.

“It's good to see
you
tied up for a change. You always have your stuff together.”

“If you only knew.”

“So what is it?” Shelly said, sitting up.

“I'll tell you if you tell me what happened between you and Conrad. You guys were close, and then everything went south.”

“I wouldn't want to jinx you and Judd,” Shelly said.

“What do you mean?”

Shelly sighed. “Conrad's sweet. He's a little younger than me but really mature in a lot of ways. The closer we got and the more time we spent together, the more serious things became.”

“He popped the question and you said no?”

“Not exactly.” Shelly opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but looked at the floor. “This is really hard.”

“Shel, what is it?”

She paused a moment more, then looked at Vicki. “We were fixing up one of the cabins with Charlie—this was before the heat wave and before Judd came back.

Charlie ran for some supplies, and Conrad asked if he could kiss me. I got kind of uncomfortable. We had both said we wouldn't put ourselves in a situation where we were alone together, you know, so we wouldn't be tempted. When I hesitated, he thought I didn't like him anymore. Then I tried to explain and things really got bad. I know it was only a kiss, but I just didn't feel right.”

“You guys talked after that, right?”

“Shouted is more like it. He said if I didn't trust him that we should break things off and just be friends. But we haven't been, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.”

“Maybe if you brought Marshall or Becky in on it, they could help resolve it.”