Frantic (30 page)

Judd scratched his head. “Just hold off until things settle. If she was stung she won't be able to talk.”

“What about Mom and Dad?” Nada said to Kasim. “We have to tell them you're alive.”

“Not now,” Kasim said. “We have to wait for the right time. I want to get some sleep.”

Lionel told Judd and the others what Chloe had written. The kids decided to wait for Mr. Rudja to return and help them figure out what to do.

Vicki and the others prayed God would protect them from the Global Community Peacekeepers as they traveled. Though Pete was exhausted, he kept driving. Vicki fell asleep at nightfall and didn't wake up until the sun was coming up the next morning. Pete finally pulled into a truck stop for fuel and coffee.

Vicki ran inside and found a phone. She dialed the secure phone in the schoolhouse, and Lenore answered.

“Mark's still asleep,” Lenore said. “He was talking with Carl in Florida half the night, getting updates about you.”

“Carl heard about us?” Vicki said.

Lenore explained that the Peacekeepers' plan was to have Traickin expose as many believers as possible. “Word is, several of the believers in Johnson City have been tracked down and arrested.”

“Oh no,” Vicki said. “It was a trap and we fell for it.”

“Just get back here as fast as you can so we can regroup,” Lenore said.

“What's going on?” Vicki said.

“Those guys from South Carolina wrote, and we put their messages on the Web site. Now kids from around the country are writing and asking if the Young Trib Force can come to their area!”

“Unbelievable,” Vicki said.

Judd fell asleep on the couch and was awakened a few hours later by Mr. Rudja. Judd explained about Kasim, and Mr. Rudja said, “He'll want to get back to Israel and reunite with his parents.”

Judd nodded. “That seems like the best plan, but how?”

Mr. Rudja put his head in his hands. “I won't be able to arrange anything until after the funeral.”

“We understand,” Judd said. “We wouldn't want to leave before then anyway.”

Judd still felt guilty about Pavel. He had neglected the boy because he had been so caught up with Nada.

“What kind of service will you have?” Judd said.

“With the locusts, nothing is normal,” Mr. Rudja said. “I notified my superiors about Pavel's death, and they have arranged a memorial service. I told them it wasn't necessary, but they insisted.”

“What will they do?” Judd said.

Mr. Rudja took a deep breath. “We'll meet in a secure room at the Enigma Babylon Cathedral. They wanted Pontifex Maximus to be there, but he's still suffering from a locust sting.

“I don't want to be there, but it would be a slap in the face to the Global Community not to go. And I would dishonor my son.”

“What do you mean?” Judd said.

“I made a promise to him before he died, and I'm going to keep it.”

27

listened as Nada and Kasim spent hours talking, laughing, and crying at Mr. Rudja's apartment. They relived childhood memories and adventures. When Kasim asked about their parents, Nada couldn't hold back the tears. She told Kasim about meeting Judd and their father's anger toward him.

“He doesn't like the thought of losing you,” Kasim said.

Judd met with Lionel and Sam about returning to Israel or the States. Mac McCullum had e-mailed Lionel and said it was too risky to take them, and he could only do it if he received word from his superiors.

Rather than bother Mr. Rudja with questions, Judd and the others let him grieve his loss. At dinner the night before the funeral, Mr. Rudja seemed upset. Judd asked what was wrong.

“I guess I'm having doubts,” Mr. Rudja said. “I believe in God with all my heart, but how do I know for sure where Pavel is?”

Judd nodded. He had tackled the same questions after Ryan's death. Where was his soul? Was it somewhere waiting in limbo? Could Ryan talk with Bruce Barnes or God anytime? Could Ryan see what was going on with the Young Trib Force?

Lionel excused himself from the table and went to Pavel's computer. He returned with a printout. “This is from Tsion's Web site. This section deals with the most frequently asked questions about death and what happens to people.”

Lionel handed the paper to Mr. Rudja, but the man waved at him. “You read it.”

“OK,” Lionel said. He spread the pages out before him on the table and read.

“For the believer in Jesus, heaven is a place of rest from sorrows. We are told that God will swallow up death forever. Isaiah writes, ‘The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people.'

“This is a wonderful thing to look forward to, no matter what way we experience that home going. We will find there a total happiness and joy. We will know each other there. We will have work to do. And there will be a place for us.

“Jesus himself said, ‘Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. . . . When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.'

“That is such a comfort for those who have had loved ones disappear or know believers who have died. We are told in God's Word in 2 Corinthians that if we are absent from our bodies, that is, when we die, we will be at home with the Lord. So take comfort in this if you have lost someone who is a believer. They are in a place of beauty and splendor.
They are with God right now.”

Mr. Rudja put up a hand and asked for the pages. He hugged Lionel and carefully folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

Nada called Kweesa and discovered the girl hadn't been stung. Nada told her she was staying with friends from Israel and wouldn't return to Kweesa's apartment.

Nada and Kasim stayed at Mr. Rudja's place when it came time for Pavel's funeral. Judd followed the others into a secure area of the Enigma Babylon Cathedral. Soft music played through speakers. Several of Mr. Rudja's employees attended, many on the tail end of the effects of the locust stings. Judd kept his head down and stayed out of sight.

Judd glanced at Pavel's body and wondered if he and Ryan were together talking about the Young Trib Force. Judd wiped away a tear as a GC technician came into the room and opened curtains revealing a giant screen. The man adjusted several controls and focused a camera on the small gathering. Whoever was on the other end of the video link would be able to see the entire room.

Mr. Rudja leaned toward Judd and the others and whispered, “When I give you the signal, go as quickly as you can back to the apartment.”

“What are you going to do?” Judd said.

Mr. Rudja put a finger to his lips and sat back.

A woman dressed in a long, colorful robe came forward. She wore the emblem of Enigma Babylon One World Faith. Judd noticed a welt on her neck. She smiled as she talked about Pavel and his father, but the smile seemed fake.

“As I understand, it wasn't long ago that the Rudja family faced a similar tragedy with the disappearance of Pavel's mother,” the woman said. “Many in the same situation simply gave up. But not Pavel and his father. They persevered. They moved on with their lives. And now, with the loss of Pavel, we all face a similar choice.

“The loss of a child, one taken so young, tears at our hearts. We long to know what Pavel would have done in the future. We ponder the contributions he could have made to the Global Community.”

Judd glanced at Mr. Rudja. He thought the man was going to be sick.

“She never met my son,” Mr. Rudja whispered to Judd.

The woman gave a signal to a man in the back. “And now, if I'm correct, we have a very special guest joining us via video link. None other than the Supreme Commander of the Global Community, Leon Fortunato.”

Leon Fortunato sat in front of a black cloth, his hands folded. Judd ducked his head and listened. Even though Judd had grown a beard since seeing Fortunato at Nicolae High, he didn't want to take a chance being recognized.

“My friends and loyal servants of the Global Community and Nicolae Carpathia, it saddens me to have to join with you at a time such as this.”

Mr. Rudja tensed when he heard Leon's voice. The man bit his lip and seethed with anger. Judd put a hand on the man's arm to calm him.

“Pavel Rudja will be remembered as a fighter,” Leon continued. “He fought the disease that eventually took his life. He fought the good fight and kept the faith in the ideals of the Global Community. There will always be a place in our hearts for this courageous young man.”

He showed more courage than you'll ever know,
Judd thought.
And he told more people about the true God than you'll know
.

Fortunato held up a piece of paper. “I have here a certificate of merit honoring Pavel Rudja that is signed by none other than the potentate himself, Nicolae Carpathia.”

Audience members around the room
ooh
ed and
ahh
ed. Leon nodded knowingly and smiled. “This will be given to you as soon as possible, Anton, as a keepsake.”

As soon as you come out of your underground bunker,
Judd thought.

“Our greatest natural resource in the Global Community is our young people,” Fortunato continued. “I am pleased to see teenagers in the audience, and I hope you will all try in your own way to take Pavel's place.”

Fortunato said a few more words, then closed by recognizing Mr. Rudja and the work he had done for the “cause of world peace.” Mr. Rudja restrained himself and gave a sigh when the screen went blank.

The woman with Enigma Babylon One World Faith stood and welcomed Mr. Rudja to the podium. “I know this is a very difficult time for you, but we would love to hear any thoughts you have about your beloved son.”

Mr. Rudja hesitated, then walked forward. Judd glanced around the room. Except for Lionel, Sam, Mr. Rudja, and himself, no one had the mark of the true believer.

“I want to thank you for coming to this memorial for my son. I have struggled with what I should say to you. What I am about to share is something you may not be ready to hear.”

Judd shifted in his seat. What was Mr. Rudja up to?

“The supreme commander's words were very nice, as are all the words coming from the leadership of the Global Community,” Mr. Rudja continued. “But just because something is nice, doesn't mean it is right. The supreme commander and our representative of Enigma Babylon One World Faith would have us believe that once this life is over, that's it. Pavel is no more. When he died, he simply ceased to exist.”

Mr. Rudja scanned the room. “Do you really believe that this life is all there is? Isn't there something deep inside that tells you this is not all there is? “Our spiritual leader with us today speaks of Pavel as

if we will never see him again, but that's not true. Pavel is more alive today than he has ever been.”

A few shifted in their seats and whispered to those around them. The woman from Enigma Babylon still smiled, her hands clasped as if in prayer.

Mr. Rudja took a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket. “Pavel wrote this a few days ago. He asked me to send it to certain people he hadn't been able to contact. I did that, but I think what he wrote fits here. If you will indulge me.”

Mr. Rudja opened the paper and spread it before him on the podium. “‘Dear friend,'” he read, “‘if you're reading this, it's because I'm dead. Believe me, I'm in a much better place now, though I know I'll miss you. That's why I'm writing this. I want you to know the truth.'

“‘The truth is, God is real and wants to know you. He created us to be with him. But we all sinned and a holy God can't allow that. So God gave us his Son, Jesus. He lived a perfect life and paid the penalty for our sin by dying for us.'

“‘The terrible things happening in our world are designed by God to get our attention. Don't let anyone fool you. If you'll ask God to forgive you of your sins, he will. And you can be as sure of heaven as I am. I'm not living with God because I was a good person, but because I asked Jesus to forgive me.'”