Arrived (5 page)

“I feel so hurt by the whole thing, and I know he's hurt too.”

“I think you did the right thing saying no,” Vicki said. “Something in your gut told you it didn't feel right.”

“But Conrad's nice. He would never do anything—”

“Doesn't matter,” Vicki said. “If you feel something's not good and you push that down, you stop listening to the voice God gave you.”

“What do you mean, ‘voice'?”

“I think God gives us something inside that tells us when things don't feel right. The times when I got into the most trouble, before I became a believer, were times when I didn't listen to that feeling, that voice that was telling me to watch out. And I know a lot of other girls who've had those same feelings but didn't listen to them because they were afraid they'd hurt somebody's feelings.”

“So I wasn't crazy to say no?”

“I don't think so. And if Conrad loved you, he'd understand. Maybe he feels just as bad about it as you do. You won't know until you talk.”

Shelly nodded and stared into the darkness. “Maybe I will.” She turned to Vicki. “Now your turn.”

Vicki waved a hand. “It's nothing compared to—”

“No fair, you promised.”

Vicki rolled her eyes. “Well, the main thing is Judd. I don't understand why he hasn't called. If he's hurt or something I'll understand, but …”

“Judd wouldn't leave you hanging if he didn't have a good reason.”

“You're right. But there's something else. Tsion wrote back and told me what he thought would happen after the Glorious Appearing. I mean, if Judd and I do get married, will we still be married after Jesus comes back? Could we have children? There's all kinds of questions, and the return of Christ is only a year away.”

Shelly bit her lip. “Does make you think, doesn't it?”

Vicki pulled out a copy of Tsion's e-mail she had printed and turned on her flashlight. “He's talking about people who will go into the Millennium alive—”

“What's the mill … milla … what you said?”

“A millennium is a thousand years. When Jesus comes back at the Glorious Appearing, he's going to reign a thousand years before the time of judgment.”

“And the thousand years starts after the battle of Armageddon, right?”

“Exactly.”

“So what did he say?”

“Listen to this. ‘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 he returns.' ”

Shelly leaned forward. “I don't get it. What's the accountability thing?”

“Tsion believes there will be kids alive who aren't believers but are too young to really understand the gospel.”

“Okay.”

“I had a dream once before we found the schoolhouse. I wanted to take in as many people as we could and teach them. Even unbelievers. We were able to take in quite a few—Melinda, Lenore, and the others—but I always felt drawn to kids.”

“And you want to do that after Jesus comes back?”

Vicki frowned. “I don't know how it would happen or even where, but wouldn't it be exciting to take care of kids who don't have parents? Kids who were just like we were after the Rapture?”

Shelly raised her eyebrows. “You think you can get Judd to sign off on the idea?”

“It's probably just stupid—”

“Don't say that,” Shelly said. “You've always said if God plants an idea in your head, no matter what other people think, he can help you accomplish it.”

Vicki lay back on the bed. “I wish I could talk about it with Judd.”

For two more days Judd and the others stayed holed up in the underground compartment because of GC activity above. Many in the group wept for Rainer and Klaus, blaming themselves for not going after them.

Judd thought of Chang. If he could get word to him about their trouble, Chang could do something. But Judd hadn't told anyone he knew a believer inside the palace, and he feared that he might endanger Chang by dragging him into their problem. Judd decided he would only bring up Chang as a last resort.

Judd recalled the envelope Rainer had given him, and he opened it while the others were asleep. Inside was another envelope and a note attached to it.

Judd
,

I wrote this to Otto after we talked. Klaus and I are going to try to lure the GC away. Please give this letter to Otto if you can. And tell Vicki about me when you see her
.

In Christ
,

Rainer

After dark, on the third day, Judd followed the others through the sewers to the safe house. They had heard no explosions, so they figured the GC hadn't discovered the hideout.

One by one they crawled through the secret opening and entered the house. Everyone tried to squeeze into the computer room, though some had to remain in the hall. The computers were off, and Helga guessed there had been a power outage.

She fired up the computer with the biggest monitor and clicked on the security cameras. “That's strange. I can't get any of them to work.”

“Maybe the outage affected the cameras and they have to be reset,” someone said.

Helga scratched her head. “Something seems different.”

“Work on it and we'll get some food,” Gunther said.

“Depending on how long the power was off, some of it may be spoiled.”

Helga tried to pull up the Global Community News Network, but it wouldn't work. “Judd, do me a favor and open the secret entrance, then close it and come right back.”

Judd hurried and did what he was told.

When he returned, Helga had a strange look on her face. “You opened it all the way, right?”

“Yeah. What's wrong?”

“The alarm isn't working on the computer.”

A group rushed down the hall, and Judd thought someone was coming with food. Then he heard the click of rifles and shouts from the kitchen. Helga jumped up and darted for the hall but stopped dead in her tracks.

A GC Peacekeeper stuck a gun through the door. “On the floor! Now!”

5

JUDD
was stunned at the sight of uniformed Peacekeepers running through the hideout. He hit the floor and watched black boots surround him and Helga. An officer patted them down and took Judd's cell phone. “On your feet and up the stairs.”

The moon shone brightly as Judd climbed out and joined the others. Several squad cars with their lights on were parked in front of the house, illuminating the line of prisoners. A Peacekeeper ordered them to sit, then pointed a flashlight at their foreheads and their right hands, checking for the mark of Carpathia.

Judd knew he should feel scared, but a sense of peace came over him. He almost felt relieved that the running and hiding were over.

He thought of Vicki and regretted risking this trip. He had been trying to call her since they had gone into hiding, but his phone didn't work underground. Now he would never again tell her he loved her. He wondered if the GC would make examples of them and show their executions on television. Or would the GC just get things over right here? The believers were outnumbered, and the GC had so many weapons.

A man with several military medals pinned to his uniform stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back. “I suppose you're wondering why your little operation didn't explode when we entered, hmm?”

When no one answered, the man gave a fake smile and continued. “Well, I'll tell you. After your two friends gave us trouble, we found your guns.” He motioned overhead. “When we uncovered your entrance, instead of barging in, we called in the bomb squad.” He pointed to the side of the house, and Judd saw a gaping hole. “We made a new entrance—hope you don't mind—found your little bomb, defused it, and waited. What a shock when we heard you enter through the sewers.”

Judd wondered if anyone would stand up to the officer, and he didn't have to wait long. Westin shook his head, and the man in charge kicked Westin hard. “Wipe that silly grin off your face!”

“You're going to lose,” Westin said.

The officer squinted. “You have no guns, you have no contact with other rebels, and you have no chance of escape.” He held up a small computer device. “And in this tiny drive I have all the information from your computers. Your contacts, your plans. Everything.”

Helga gave the man a worried look. “Our files are encrypted. You'll never be able to—”

“With the resources of the Global Community? I'm sure our tech crew will have this figured out by my morning coffee.” He turned to Westin. “You're crazy to think you can defeat us.”

“You can kill us, but you're not going to win,” Westin said.

“Ah, a Judah-ite, eh?” The man turned and spoke to the men holding guns on the group. “Followers of Tsion Ben-Judah. They believe in the God of the Bible and that he is punishing us for our sins. That sums it up, doesn't it, Judah-ite?”

“I believe one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

“Amen,” a few people whispered.

“Jesus Christ?” The officer tapped his lips with his index finger and looked at the other Peacekeepers. “Haven't seen him, have you?”

The others laughed.

“But I have seen someone come back from the dead. With my own eyes—not some fairy tale written thousands of years ago.”

“One day you will kneel and admit that Jesus—”

The man punched Westin in the face. Westin slumped over and Judd reached out to help him, but the officer pushed Judd away with his boot. “Cuff them! Anybody so much as breathes, shoot them.”

Peacekeepers moved behind the group and put plastic zip cuffs on each prisoner. Judd wondered if anyone would put up a fight or try to escape, but everyone seemed to submit to the procedure.

The lead officer spoke by radio to someone at headquarters. After a head count, he relayed how many they were bringing in and that GCNN cameras should be waiting for them.

“You think your superiors will be proud of the fact that we were living right here under your noses?” Westin said.

The man glared at Westin. “I promise you, today I will dance in your blood.”

The group had all been cuffed except for Judd and Gunther when the lights went out. Literally. Peacekeepers dropped their weapons and reached to rub their eyes as headlights on the GC cars went dark. Flashlights were useless to the officers. Streetlights disappeared. Judd had seen power outages before. Once his parents had been away and the power went out while he was watching a scary movie in the basement. It had taken him several minutes to find his way upstairs, and it had terrified him.

But this was different. Lights on phones, radios, the dashboards of the squad cars—everything was dark. The incredible thing was, Judd could still see. Everything was a hazy brown, and he could only see about twenty feet, but he could see.

This must be what a cat sees in the dark
, Judd thought.

Some of the Peacekeepers still had their guns pointed toward the prisoners, but Judd could tell they were disoriented. One tapped his watch and punched a button, trying to see the time, but even the lighted display on his watch had gone dark.

“This is really weird,” Westin whispered to Judd. “Can you see?”

“I can, but I don't think they can.”

“What's going on?” a frantic Peacekeeper called out.

“Everybody hold your position and keep the prisoners where they are,” the leader said.

“Did the lights go out or is it just me?” another Peacekeeper whispered.

If the situation weren't so serious, Judd would have laughed. As soon as the leader mentioned the prisoners, the Peacekeepers aimed their guns at where they thought Judd and the others were standing. It was like a military version of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, with men pointing guns in every direction.

The leader pulled out his cell phone but couldn't see the keypad. He reached for his radio microphone three times before he grabbed the cord and worked his way to the mike. “We have a situation here, Base, an electrical blackout.”

A few seconds pause, then the dispatcher's stressed voice came on. It was clear things were just as bad at headquarters as they were here. “We have power here, but no visual—” Judd couldn't make out the rest because people at headquarters were screaming in the background.

Gunther lifted a hand and motioned the prisoners to the right. As one they crept past the puzzled Peacekeepers. Judd stopped a few feet away from a Peacekeeper and spotted a pair of pliers on the man's belt. He inched closer and grasped the tool, slowly lifting it from the man's belt. As Judd grabbed, the Peacekeeper whirled around and fired. The shot went over Judd's head and ricocheted off the burned-out safe house.

Judd jammed the pliers in his pocket, hit the ground, and put his hands over his ears. Other Peacekeepers opened fire on where they thought the prisoners were standing, but they either fired into the safe house or actually shot each other. Judd counted three Peacekeepers on the ground, writhing in pain.