Frantic
Frantic
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Frantic
is a special edition compilation of the following Left Behind
®
: The Kids titles:
#20: A Dangerous Plan
copyright © 2002 by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. All rights reserved.
#21: Secrets of New Babylon
copyright © 2002 by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. All rights reserved.
#22: Escape from New Babylon
copyright © 2002 by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. All rights reserved.
Cover photo copyright © 2003 by Didier Robcis/Getty Images. All rights reserved.
Left Behind
is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680
Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Some Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Designed by Jenny Swanson
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jenkins, Jerry B.
Frantic / Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye ; with Chris Fabry.
        p. cm. â (Left behindâthe kids) #6 Vol. 20â22
Special ed. compilation of the following three works previously published in 2002:
A Dangerous Plan; Secrets of New Babylon; Escape from New Babylon.
Summary: Four teens battle the forces of evil when they are left behind after the Rapture.
ISBN 0-8423-8356-5 (hc)
[1. End of the worldâFiction. 2. Christian lifeâFiction.] I. LaHaye, Tim F. II. Fabry, Chris. III. Title.
PZ7.J4138Fr 2004
| Â Â [Fic]âdc22 | 2003022986 |
| Â |
Printed in the United States of America
09 08 07 06 05 04
9Â Â Â 8Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 1
Table of Contents
VICKI
Byrne lunged for the crib and swung a board at the hovering locust. She missed, but the beast veered away, screaming, “Apollyon!”
“More are trying to get in!” Darrion yelled.
“Stay there,” Vicki said. “I'll get this one!”
The locust dove at the baby again. Vicki's stomach turned at the hideous face of the creature. She swung again and connected. The locust bounced off the wall and fell into the crib.
“Don't let it hurt my baby!” Lenore yelled from above.
“Shut the door!” Vicki said, peeking over the edge of the crib. The baby cried and kicked at his cover as the locust lay a few inches from his feet.
“It's OK, Tolan,” Vicki said. “I'm going to get this bad thing away from you.”
Tolan smiled. Vicki picked up the locust by one of its legs and held it upside down. The body was shaped like a miniature horse armed for war, but where a mane should have been was long, flowing hair. On its back were wings. Vicki flipped the locust over and saw a human face, but the front teeth were like a lion's.
Lenore trembled. “Don't let it hurt my baby.”
“Keep the door closed,” Vicki said through clenched teeth. “If this thing gets upstairs it'll sting all of you.”
“Put it under the door before it comes to,” Shelly said.
Vicki dropped the locust, and Shelly kicked it against the wooden door, then mashed its body into the mud.
“Another one's getting in!” Darrion shouted.
Before Vicki could react, a locust skittered by and flew toward the crib. Its wings twitched furiously with a metallic clicking as it rose toward Tolan. The child reached for it and laughed.
“Apollyon,” the locust wailed.
Vicki raced for the crib, but the locust disappeared over the edge. Tolan squealed. The locust flew at the child's face, its teeth bared. But it stopped each time, unable to get closer than a few inches from Tolan. The locust darted up, turned to attack, but stopped in midair. Venom sloshed in its tail as it screamed in its high-pitched voice, “Apollyon!”
Tolan stared at the locust, then looked at Vicki.
Lenore shrieked, eyeing the door above. “Don't let it get my baby!”
Vicki swung at the locust, but the beast darted behind the crib.
“Get back upstairs, Lenore!” Vicki said.
“We're not letting her back up here!” Melinda shouted. “She won't keep the door closed.”
Shelly and Darrion tromped on the floor to keep other locusts out. Vicki helped Lenore up, but the woman fell back, horror on her face.
Vicki turned and saw the locust, its mouth dripping with venom, heading straight for them.
Judd Thompson Jr. was somehow calm in the middle of so much chaos. Their plane sat on the runway in Jerusalem, trapped by thousands of swarming demons.
The pilot scowled at Judd. “Why aren't you afraid?”
“They won't attack a believer in Christ,” Judd said.
“You're crazy.”
“I am not,” Judd said. “Let me help.”
“I can't let you go out there.”
Judd put a hand on the pilot's arm. “Anyone else goes out, they'll get stung. Open the door and those things will swarm in. If I can get the gate attached, there's a chance these people can get inside the terminal.”
The pilot looked out and studied the locusts. “This section of the terminal is isolated.”
“Please,” Judd said.
The pilot turned to the flight attendant. “Get the crash ax. We'll cut a hole in the baggage compartment.”
“Wait,” Judd said. “Those things will get through the hole you make.”
Something skittered above them. A high-pitched sound followed. “Abbadon!” a locust proclaimed.
“How are they getting in?” the flight attendant said.
The pilot picked up a phone. “Jim, close the manual override to the outflow valve. Now!”
Judd heard locusts scampering overhead. “How thick is that tubing?”
“It's plastic and thick enough,” the pilot said. “They can't chew through.” He clicked on the intercom. “Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. There's no way the bugs can get into the cabin. Please stay calm as we work on getting you out of here safely. A young man has offered to help, so clear the aisles and stay in your seats.”
Applause greeted Judd as he stepped into the aisle and followed the pilot. The man lifted the edge of the carpet and pulled a yellow tab. The carpet tore along a seam, revealing a small door.
“This leads to a compartment under the plane,” he said, grabbing a ring in the floor. “It's tight, but you'll fit.”
“The locusts will come in when you open it,” Judd said.
The pilot twisted the ring and turned a bolt on the hatch door. “Not if you do it right. It's an access bay. You get inside and we seal the top. Open another door at the bottom and you're outside. No way they can get in.”
The pilot showed Judd how to move the jetway into position once he was outside the plane, then opened the hatch. “I hope you're right about them not attacking you.”
Judd wriggled to the bottom and found a latch with a weird handle and a button. He pressed and turned it, bracing himself as the hatch opened. Locusts flew into the hole, but Judd kicked at them. Finally, he let go and dropped to the ground.
Judd felt both relief and horror. The fresh air felt good, but the locusts sickened him. The plane's wings were full of the horrid creatures scratching and biting at the fuselage. Some hovered near the windows, shrieking as they tried to get at the passengers.
White fluid dripped from a burned-out engine. Somehow, the locusts had shattered a rotor and had flown right through the engine. If those locusts had survived, there was no way to kill the beasts.
Lionel Washington stood at a window in the terminal. He had lived through an earthquake and the other judgments sent by God, but nothing compared to this.
Sam Goldberg stood beside him, looking equally shocked. Lionel, Sam, and Judd had planned to return to Illinois, but now the world had turned upside down.
“My father,” Sam said. “What happens when he is stung?”
Lionel pointed to an airline worker writhing in pain on the runway. “He'll hurt so bad he'll want to kill himself. But he won't be able to.”
Sam groaned. “If only he'd listened.”
A woman ran screaming through the waiting area and beat on the glass doors. A security guard ran toward her. “You can't go through there, ma'am! It's for your own safety.”
“My daughter's in there!”
Lionel saw locusts were on the other side of the glass swooping and attacking as people ran from side to side. Some people cowered in corners. A few tried to hide near pay phones. Others ran for rest rooms and locked themselves inside.
Lionel felt helpless. The only hope for these people was the truth, but they were too frightened to listen.
Sam tugged on Lionel's arm and pointed toward the runway. “Look at that!”
Lionel gasped when Judd crawled out from under the plane and moved toward the terminal. He disappeared beneath the jetway in a swirl of angry locusts.