God's Lions: The Secret Chapel (19 page)

In the Land Rover, the abandoned dog now sat happily between John and Ariella in air-conditioned comfort, munching away on some roast beef John had confiscated from the mobile kitchen.

The small convoy traveled south for another fifty miles before it rolled to a stop along the side of the highway. Looking out through the windows of their vehicles, the occupants scanned the vast emptiness of the Negev Desert that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Magnificent desolation.
Leo had heard astronaut Buzz Aldrin use the same words to describe the moon when he stepped out onto its surface for the first time.

The Negev Desert was one of the most isolated and desolate places on earth. Ringed with gray mountains in the distance, they could see nothing green. Except for a few hardy species of insects and snakes, the only signs of life in this arid sea of rock and sand were the Bedouin tribes who still passed through the area, clinging to their traditional nomadic ways.

Two thousand years ago, the Nabataeans controlled the ancient spice and incense route here where the caravans crossed from India and Southern Arabia to the Mediterranean. Scattered ruins of their culture could still be found among the shifting sands. The area had changed little since that time, and for the most part, the Negev remained wild and free from modern civilization.

The motorized caravan lurched forward once more before turning off the paved highway and heading deeper into the desert where there were no roads. They traveled another two hours at an agonizingly slow pace, skirting sheer cliffs that dropped into deep, shadowed canyons before the convoy drove up onto a flat crater-filled plateau. Alon glanced at his GPS and brought the Land Rover to a stop.

“I guess this is it,” Ariella announced from the backseat.

Leo looked out across the forbidding landscape and watched the shimmering waves of heat rising in the distance. “I sure hope so. I don’t think my backside could take much more bumping along over these rocks and holes.”

The other vehicles pulled to a stop around them, a modern-day version of a wagon train in the desert. They dismounted their trucks and stood under the sun, gazing at the strange beauty of the immense wilderness before them.

The desert here was surrounded by cone-like mountains and vertical cliffs ringing their position. Nearby, the plateau ended at the edge of a precipice that dropped several hundred feet into a canyon below. There were stories of people becoming disoriented by the optical illusions created by the canyons running through the flat plateaus and driving right off a cliff before they realized it was there. This was definitely not a place to be exploring after dark.

The color of the loose sand was golden, with red and white patches of soil pushing through in places. The air was still, and the absence of sound was slightly unnerving to those accustomed to lives around people and the attendant noise of TVs, music, and traffic. It seemed peaceful, yet for some reason, the place gave the new arrivals a vague feeling of apprehension. The atmosphere especially affected Father Leo. He looked at the angle of the sun and asked the others to immediately begin setting up camp in a race against the approaching darkness.

The small band of men and women began working together in the laborious task of unloading the trucks, pitching tents, and organizing supplies, while the cooks cranked up the mobile kitchen and were slicing and dicing their way to dinner. In the dusty orange haze of the desert sunset, the camp was just beginning to take shape when they all heard the sound.

A rhythmic thump, thump, thump could be heard in the distance. The noise grew louder, then fainter as it crisscrossed the floor of the canyon below. Everyone in camp stopped what they were doing and listened. Whatever it was, it was getting closer to their campsite.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon, allowing the group to see rapid bright-red flashes of light shooting up into the sky from the edge of the desert where the plateau met the rim of the canyon. With everyone’s attention riveted on the lights, a dark fast-moving shape materialized from the rim and flew up and over the camp, followed by another. Blowing sand swirled over the vehicles and tents, entering the nostrils and mouths of the startled and confused group as they shielded their eyes.

Slowly, they began to grasp their situation. Two large Blackhawk helicopters were circling their campsite and preparing to land, their flashing red strobe lights reflecting against the vehicles and desert floor around them.

The group instinctively turned their backs to the landing aircraft, pulling their shirts up over their faces in an effort to keep from breathing in the swirling sand. The helicopters began touching down next to the camp and quickly shut down their engines, one after another, until the whine of the turbines and the chop of the rotor blades came to a halt.

Leo and the others brushed away the fine grit that covered their clothing and filled their hair as the helicopters’ doors began to slide open, revealing familiar faces peering out from inside.

Ariella was the first to spot Lev. “Father! What are you doing here? How did you...?”

“I’m sorry, little one. We tried to reach you on your cell phones and radios, but nothing seems to work right out here. Our signals were probably blocked by the canyon walls. But the radios seem to be working fine now. Moshe finally convinced one of his high-ranking cabinet friends to authorize the use of these helicopters. We didn’t plan on having them so soon.”

Everyone was overjoyed at the arrival of Lev and the other staff members from the villa, including a dusty but grinning Leo. “I didn’t think we’d see you for another few days.”

Lev winked before reaching into the helicopter and pulling out a case of wine. “Tonight, my friend, we eat, drink, and dance. Tomorrow, we work.”

John looked confused. “Did Lev just say we were going to dance?”

Ariella threw her head back in laughter. “It’s an Israeli thing.”

The two groups came together and continued to set up the camp, designating separate areas for different purposes. Lev instructed one of the helicopter pilots to radio the villa, and soon, another convoy of trucks full of equipment was en route.

The cooks threw more meat on the grill in anticipation of the new arrivals while Leo helped some young people carry long folding tables into an enormous screened mess tent Lev and his staff had erected next to the mobile kitchen.

John and Ariella took charge of setting up generator-powered lights to illuminate the area around the perimeter where another group was busy setting up a row of large ten-person tents with a series of portable latrines nearby.

Around nine o’clock at night, a line of headlights could be seen in the distance. The second convoy, bringing more supplies and additional staff from Lev’s villa, soon rolled into camp, spurring another round of unloading and organizing. There were twenty-four people in the new group, half of them women. They had been summoned to perform various roles, including security, medical, communications, archaeological excavation, photography, transportation, and supply. The helicopters were being secured for the night by their crews and would remain with the expedition, as it was now being called, for as long as they were needed.

Alon and Daniel began work on setting up a special communications facility in the center of camp. It was an improved version of the inflatable tents designed before the Gulf War for the harsh desert environment. It came complete with its own power source and the air-conditioning necessary for the sensitive electronic equipment.

Antennas began to sprout up around the perimeter of the new facility like a giant spider web. One of the vehicles in the second convoy was a huge four-wheel-drive tanker truck full of water, which was conveniently placed between the kitchen and a second inflatable tent used for showering.

Exhausted from the day’s work, everyone in camp finally gathered around the steaming platters of food that were coming in a steady stream from the kitchen to the tables in the mess tent. Candles provided a soft, flickering light while a CD of classical music played in the background. Bottles of Israeli wine were passed around, and soon, the evening began to take on the aura of an impromptu party in the middle of the Negev Desert.

Lev and Leo sat at one of the long tables and enjoyed the stillness of the moment. Leo was still amazed at how the Bible had led them to this spot in the middle of nowhere, and he was anxious to learn more about his new friends and their work on the code.

Lev reached over and poured some white wine in Leo’s glass. “We share a common bond, Leo, a bond formed by our faith in Christ and the knowledge that our numbers are slowly dwindling. I believe this group here tonight represents one of many seeds that will soon spread throughout the world. In fact, I would call them all
chosen
ones.”

That got Leo’s attention.

“What do you know about those who are mentioned in the code as chosen, Professor? Have you found any more names in the Bible listed as chosen for this task?”

“So far, we only have the five names Daniel found. No one else here is mentioned in the code, but they all support our mission. Even though all these people have gathered here at this time and this place to do God’s bidding, only those whose names are encoded in the Bible will be tasked with retrieving the object we were sent to find.”

The two men looked around at the others from their place at the end of the table. They were enjoying the camaraderie of this special group of men and women who had volunteered to help solve an ancient mystery, despite a clear warning about the danger they all faced.

John entered the tent, wearing fresh jeans and a clean white T-shirt borrowed from a staff member.

“I see the new shower tent has been christened,” Leo said.

“What a great idea, a tent with running water. I feel like a new man. There’s nothing like a cool shower before dinner, even if it is almost midnight.”

Lev winked at Leo. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Living this close to the desert all our lives has helped us learn a few tricks to keep comfortable.”

Ariella entered the tent with the stray dog wrapped in a towel.

“What on earth are you doing with that dog?” Lev asked.

“He needed a bath too. He smelled terrible. Since he’s staying with us, he’s going to be well-groomed.”

The mess tent had taken on the din of a popular bistro at happy hour. Everyone was chatting all at once and enjoying the sumptuous meal created by the cooks. Alon seemed happier than usual and had his arm draped over the shoulder of one of the female helicopter pilots. Ariella introduced her to Leo and John as Alon’s fiancée, Nava. The couple apparently had not seen each other in months and couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

John and Ariella retreated to a far corner of the tent to engage in some quiet conversation while the former stray dog slept soundly at their feet after having made the rounds of every table and receiving his fill of handouts.

“Those two are starting to look like a couple,” Lev said, watching his daughter and John alone at a table. He sighed before turning his attention back to Leo. “Do you have any knowledge of group dreams and prophecy, Father?”

“Well, my specific area of study is ancient Christian sects and how they came to form the Catholic Church, but I recall several documented cases of group dreams occurring throughout history among the faithful. Some are what I would call inspirational dreams that have a positive effect and can spur people on to achieve great things in the name of God. Others seem to be more prophetic in nature, predicting either catastrophic or miraculous events. These dreams can also be a warning, offering instead a vision of things to come for those who refuse to heed God’s word.”

“Can these dreams come from somewhere other than God?” Lev asked. “I mean, could Satan inspire group dreams in people?”

“Well, I guess when you’re talking about dreams with religious overtones, there’s really no way to tell. A lot depends on the content of the dream and what you may or may not be asked to do in them. Mental institutions and prisons are full of people who did some really bad things they believed God had told them to do in a dream.”

Lev shifted uneasily in his seat. “I haven’t mentioned this before, Leo, but many of us here have been having dreams about coming to this desert together, including myself. I guess there’s been some concern about where these dreams are truly coming from.”

This was getting interesting.
“What exactly do you see in your dreams, Lev? I mean, are there any explicit verbal instructions, and do you all dream the same thing?”

“For the most part, we all see a terrible storm over the desert.”

Leo felt a sudden chill as the hair raised up on his arms.

“I don’t know if Morelli told you, Father,” Lev said, “but I’ve had the gift of prophecy since I was a child.”

Leo put his glass down and looked Lev right in the eyes. This man was serious. Leo had a knack for being able to tell if someone was telling the truth or pulling his leg. In his entire career as a Jesuit priest, he had met only one other person who had the gift of prophecy, and that person was the previous pope.

“Do you mean you actually see things that happen in the future?”

Lev looked embarrassed. “Well, yes. It’s only happened a few times and I never know when it will occur again. When I was a student, I told one of my teachers in school that I had dreamed about the American president being shot and killed. The next day, President Kennedy was assassinated. I also dreamed about the World Trade Center being hit by airplanes the night before the attack.”

Leo was dumbstruck. A real-life prophet here and now in this day and age. Morelli must have been totally beside himself when he met this man. One of his main goals in life had been to meet a real prophet living in today’s world. Morelli had believed that by meeting a modern prophet whose prophesies could be verified, he could validate stories from the Old Testament about the prophets of old.