Frantic (16 page)

Pete ran to the GC van, grabbed the keys, and threw them over an embankment. Vicki did the same with the guns.

“Let's get out of here,” Pete said, taking something from the van.

“What about them?” Vicki said. One guard writhed, the other lay still, unconscious.

“It's already too late for them,” Pete said.

Judd told Lionel and Sam what was going on as the plane neared New Babylon. At Mac's suggestion, Nada took his cell phone and called her parents in Israel.

Judd returned to the cockpit. He guessed Mac was about fifty. Mac said he was twice divorced, no kids. He had flown commercial and military planes.

“How did you become a member of the Tribulation Force?” Judd said.

“It's a long story, but briefly, I was flying with a guy who had become a believer after his wife and son disappeared. He told me his story and I believed. When I went to tell him, I saw the mark on his forehead. That was some morning.”

“Where were you when the earthquake hit?”

“Right on top of Carpathia's building,” Mac said. “Makes me sick to think about it. The guy actually kicked people away from the helicopter so he could save his own skin.”

“So Nada's brother didn't have a chance,” Judd said.

“The only ones with a prayer were the people on the roof. If her brother was inside or nearby, he was probably killed instantly. Leon Fortunato says he himself was killed in the collapse.”

“Yeah, he says Carpathia raised him from the dead.”

Mac snickered. “I say Leon's as big a liar as Nicolae.”

He pointed out New Babylon on the horizon and a strange feeling came over Judd. It was as if they were entering a place of evil. Judd had heard and read so much about the gleaming buildings and streets second to none. After the earthquake, Nicolae Carpathia had made rebuilding the city his top priority.

As the plane neared the city, Judd was impressed by the sparkle of glass in the sunshine. Beautiful buildings rose out of the sand, each a monument celebrating the reign of Nicolae Carpathia.

Judd went back to his seat. Nada was wiping her eyes.

“What happened?” Judd said.

Nada laid her head on his shoulder. “They were frantic trying to find me. Yitzhak and my father had just gotten back from looking in the streets.”

“What did you tell them?”

“That I didn't mean to cause trouble. I just wanted to be with you. I told my mother I was going to visit the place where Kasim died.”

“Let me guess. It didn't help.”

“No. And my father was so angry he could hardly talk. I told him I loved him and would see him soon. He called me an impulsive teenager.” She imitated her father's voice, “ ‘We don't have time to play love games. A wrong move could cost our lives.' ”

Nada's father was right. She was impulsive. But that appealed to Judd.

Mac landed and escorted the kids through a private entrance for GC employees. He explained that the believers working behind the scenes for the Global Community had faked locust stings.

“Are there many believers here?” Lionel said.

“Not many,” Mac said, “but we're finding new ones who read Tsion Ben-Judah's Web site. We have a guy who knows computers. There's another pilot. And we hope many more new believers before we have to get out of here.”

“Why wouldn't you stay?” Lionel said.

“Sooner or later Carpathia will make everybody take some form of ID right on their skin. You'll have to have it to buy or sell or move around.”

Mac told Nada to be careful. “If anyone finds out you're a believer, they'll report you in a second.”

“Just keep quiet and let them go to hell?” Nada said.

Mac scratched his neck. “If you were my kids, I'd say the same thing.”

Judd and the others nodded.

“How do we get back home?” Nada said.

Mac shrugged. “I doubt you'll be able to fly commercial. Let Judd work that out with this Pavel and his dad.”

Mac led them through the nearly deserted airport. The locusts had hit the GC hard. An older man checked the kids' identification. Mac explained who they were, and the man eyed them carefully, then waved them through.

Vicki held on as Pete drove as fast as possible to the highway. She kept watching for the white GC vans.

Pete pulled out a tiny radio and flipped it on. “I got it from the van.”

The radio squawked message after message to the downed Peacekeepers. Finally, another crew reported the mishap.

“They'll come after us now,” Pete said.

He took an exit and barreled into the gas station where he had switched trailers. Pete raced inside. Vicki opened the trailer and the people tumbled out, looking dazed and disoriented.

“We thought we were goners,” Shelly said.

A call came over the radio. “We're almost to the highway. They couldn't have gotten far.”

Pete returned with Roger Cornwell and yelled for everyone to be quiet. “They're on their way, so we have to hide. I'm taking the truck back to the highway—”

“No!” Vicki shouted.

“It's the only way,” Pete said. “Roger says there's a cave about a half a mile back in the trees behind the station.”

“We know where it is,” a teenage boy shouted.

“Good,” Pete said. “Lead the way.”

“But, Pete,” Vicki pleaded.

“Trust me,” Pete said. “I'll be all right.”

Vicki ran with the others into the woods. She stopped at the tree line and watched Pete drive away. “Protect him,” she prayed.

New Babylon gleamed in the sunlight. Mac drove near all the sights the kids had seen on television and pointed out significant buildings and landmarks. The streets were nearly deserted. Locusts were out in full force, waiting to sting anyone without the mark of the believer.

When they came to Nicolae Carpathia's office complex, Mac slowed. He told them the structure had been built on the same site as the old building that had collapsed during the great earthquake.

“This is where my brother worked,” Nada said, her voice trembling.

“You'll stay in the apartment complex over there,” Mac said.

“What about us?” Lionel said.

Mac stopped and opened the door for Nada. “You guys are down a few more blocks.”

Judd hugged Nada. “Be careful,” he said. “I want us back in Israel in one piece.”

Nada smiled. “You're the one I'm worried about.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Judd saw Lionel shake his head.

15

MARK
Eisman struggled with his role at the schoolhouse. He wanted to follow the latest news and work on their Web site,
theunderground-online.com
, but with Vicki, Conrad, and Shelly gone, and no chance of Judd or Lionel returning soon, his job was holding everything together.

Lenore Barker was a big help with the daily chores, but she had to look after her baby, Tolan. Melinda and Janie, who had been stung by locusts, suffered great pain. They wailed and moaned from their room upstairs.

Mark put Darrion Stahley in charge of following the travels of Vicki and the others. She had kept in contact with the kids through South Carolina, but something went wrong as they neared Tennessee. Darrion hadn't heard anything more from them. She also monitored what was going on in Baltimore with another crackdown on believers. She kept track of incoming e-mail and watched for news from Carl Meninger at the GC outpost in Florida.

But Mark was baffled by Charlie. He was the only unbeliever who hadn't been stung. Lenore and Darrion met with Mark after dinner to talk.

“I don't know what to think,” Darrion said. “If he were disabled in some way he would have been taken in the Rapture, right?”

“There must be some way to explain it,” Mark said.

Lenore shook her head. “If it hadn't been for you guys, I wouldn't have escaped those things.”

“Let me throw something out,” Mark said. “The locusts didn't sting Tolan because he's a baby. Even though he doesn't have the mark on his forehead, God must have put some kind of protection around him.”

“Okay,” Darrion said.

“What if there's some kind of protection from God around Charlie?”

“But he's had every chance in the world,” Darrion said. “From what Vicki said, he wants to be part of the club. He's still trying to do things to earn the mark.”

Mark nodded. “But maybe he's so close that . . .” He noticed someone at the kitchen door.

“I've been trying to figure it out myself,” Charlie said, walking inside. He sat slowly, a strange look on his face. “I know I deserve to get stung just like those two girls, but I didn't.”

“Charlie, you've heard what Vicki and the rest of us have said about God,” Darrion said. “You know the truth, right?”

“I know that if I want to get a thing on my head, I have to pray that prayer.”

“Is that why you prayed?” Mark said.

Charlie looked away. “Vicki was nice to me. I wanted to be one of you guys. Nobody's ever liked me because I'm kind of weird. And I know God doesn't like me.”

“Wait,” Mark said, “the whole point is that God loves you. He cares about you.”

“He likes you if you do good things,” Charlie argued.

Mark moved closer. “We were just wondering if maybe God protected you because he knew you were close to really understanding and accepting his love.”

Charlie wrinkled his brow. “Why would he do that?”

“God loved you enough to die for you,” Darrion said. “Protecting you from those locusts is nothing compared to that.”

Charlie closed his eyes.

Mark looked at Darrion and Lenore and whispered, “Pray.”

Judd said good-bye to Mac and thanked him. “We'd never have made it here without you.”

“Be careful,” Mac said, “these buildings have ears. Call me if you need anything.”

The kids made their way through a series of doors designed to keep the locusts out. They found the elevators and Judd punched the right floor number. The building had an atrium with exotic flowers, plants, and a huge waterfall. The only thing missing was people. Judd figured they were either cocooned in their rooms or recuperating from their stings.