Frantic (18 page)

“And he's saying this from an underground bunker,” Lionel said.

“In order to ease fears about the world economy,” Nicolae continued, “I am personally taking charge of global commerce.”

“What does that mean?” Sam said.

Pavel coughed and lay back on a pillow. “It means he can pay off his ten kings and keep them loyal.”

Carpathia put up a hand to pet the locust. The camera zoomed in on his face. Judd thought of people around the world who were falling for this trick. They had believed Nicolae wanted peace. They completely trusted the Global Community to fix their problems and take care of them. They were even buying the Global Community's religion, which taught that everyone could have their own beliefs, except those who really wanted to know the God of the Bible.

“We must not let a few bugs steal our commitment to our new world,” Nicolae continued. “There will be those who will say this is a sign from the heavens. We are bad people who need to be punished.

“I ask you, what kind of god would punish people for trying to do the best they can? We have survived many disasters. It is time to put aside this silly talk and move ahead.

“We hold our own destiny in our hands. Our plans of peace and rebuilding will continue. We will unite. I have plans for good for all citizens, and I will not rest until they become a reality.”

The camera pulled back, showing the locust snuggling up to Carpathia's neck. “Now does this look like any kind of judgment from an angry God? We must not allow anyone, especially those who claim to speak for God, to take away our dream of unity and peace.”

A telephone number and a Web site address flashed on the screen. “If you suspect someone you know may be working against the Global Community, please call this number or contact the Web site you see on your screen.

“And if you suspect someone you know follows the teachings of Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah, contact us immediately. Even now we are working on ways to rehabilitate those who see the Global Community as a threat.”

The scene faded to black and Nicolae's voice echoed. “Do not let your hearts be troubled, my friends. Trust in me.”

Vicki couldn't stop thinking about Pete. If the Peacekeepers had caught him, they would try to get information. That meant she might never see Pete alive again. She looked out over the faces of her audience.

“Do you need to take a break?” the pastor said.

Vicki nodded. The pastor handed her a bottle of water and showed her a place to sit. “What you're saying is exactly what we need to hear,” the man said. “I'm not a real pastor. I just know more than the others. They all voted me the leader.” He extended a hand. “I'm Greg Sowers.”

“How did you figure out the truth?” Vicki said.

“I read Tsion's Web site,” Greg said, “and I remember a lot from when I was a kid. My parents took me to church every time the doors were open. I won ribbons and buttons, knew all the verses. Memory stuff was easy for me. I could look at a verse once and say it right back to my Sunday school teacher.”

“So how'd you get left behind if you knew all of that?” Vicki said.

“Knowing verses about God doesn't make you a believer in him,” Greg said. “I fooled a lot of people. I'd live one way at school and with my friends, then clean up my act on Sundays and Wednesday nights. I even married the preacher's daughter.”

“You're kidding,” Vicki said.

Greg shook his head. “I used to sit with her dad and talk about the Bible till late at night. I could really talk about God, but I didn't know him.”

“How did your wife find out you weren't a true Christian?”

“She never did,” Greg said. “I was such a good liar. I'd come home late without an excuse and blame her for being suspicious.”

“The truth never sank in?” Vicki said.

Greg put his head against the wall of the cave. “I sat through so many services. I even took notes. But it didn't mean anything until that morning.”

“The morning after the disappearances?”

Greg nodded. “I told my wife I had to work overtime, but I was really out partying with some friends. I slipped into bed before sunrise and woke up late. Her nightclothes were in the bed beside me, but I didn't think anything was wrong. Then I heard the news and realized she was gone.”

“That's when you prayed?” Vicki said.

Greg shook his head. “I was mad at God. Cussed him out. Then I came to my senses. I didn't have a choice. It was either ask God to forgive me or wind up following the devil's guy.” Greg pointed to his forehead. “You can see what I chose.”

“I'm glad you did,” Vicki said.

“Now will you tell us what's next?” Greg said.

Vicki sighed. “I can, but it's not going to be easy.”

Judd and the others talked about Nicolae's message. “For all their talk of tolerance, it sounds like they want to wipe out any resistance to the GC,” Judd said.

Pavel nodded. “Exactly. And if they can turn citizens into GC bloodhounds to sniff out believers, what hope do we have?”

“We have this hope,” Judd said. “No matter how many times Nicolae quotes the Bible as if he made it up, in the end, God wins.”

Lionel held up a hand and pointed to the television. “Something's going on in Maryland. Turn up the sound.”

The report showed someone under a huge cover being shoved into a GC Peacekeeper cruiser. Pavel turned up the sound.

“. . . has been identified as former senator from Maryland, Chris Traickin,” the news anchor said. “Traickin is suspected of subversion against the Global Community, running a religious organization that worked directly against Nicolae Carpathia and the Global Community.

“Peacekeepers equipped in special protective gear conducted the raid on Traickin's apartment and a nearby meeting place filled to capacity with followers of Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah. It's not yet known how many others were arrested.”

“I wonder how much more of that we're going to see,” Judd said.

“Too much,” Pavel said.

Someone handed Vicki a Bible and she read from Revelation 9. “ ‘Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions. They were told not to hurt the grass or plants or trees but to attack all the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with agony like the pain of scorpion stings. In those days people will seek death but will not find it.' ”

Vicki looked up. “We know this has been going on for some time. People are still being stung and a lot of them have tried to kill themselves but can't.

“Everything that's been predicted in Revelation has been right on schedule. The locusts are part of the fifth Trumpet Judgment. Now comes the sixth.”

Vicki paused. People scooted closer to make sure they could hear. “I don't exactly know how it's going to work, and I don't think Dr. Ben-Judah does either, but there's going to be an army of 200 million mounted troops let loose on the earth.”

“You mean people on horses,” a boy said, “or could these be military machines?”

“I guess they could be machines of some sort,” Vicki said, “but if the locusts were real, my guess is that these are too, only bigger.”

“What do the horsemen do?” someone said.

“That's the awful part. Dr. Ben-Judah has said that only one-fourth of the people left behind at the Rapture will survive until the Glorious Appearing. But this judgment is worse than anything we've seen so far. This army is going to kill a third of everybody still left on earth.”

“A third?” a woman said, trembling.

Vicki nodded. “And the Bible makes it clear that most of the people who come out of this alive will continue to reject God. They'll keep on doing the evil things they've been doing.”

Greg Sowers stood. “You've heard me talk about the harvest of souls that God wants to bring during this time. Well, that time is almost up. If you have loved ones or friends who are still alive, you need to get the message to them quickly.”

Conrad ran into the cave out of breath. He bent over, grabbed his side, and gasped, “Somebody's coming up the trail!”

17

VICKI
pulled Conrad aside and whispered, “Do you think it's the GC?”

“I couldn't tell,” Conrad said, trying to catch his breath. “I heard them and ran up here.”

Groups of believers gathered to pray. A shadow appeared at the entrance to the cave. It was Roger Cornwell from the gas station. He dropped a heavy sack as Vicki rushed to him and asked about Pete.

“The GC flew past in those vans a few minutes after Pete left,” Roger said. “I don't think he could have outrun them.”

“Where would they take him?” Conrad said.

Greg Sowers stepped forward. “I hope you're not thinking of trying to free your friend. You'll get in trouble. Besides, we don't know if he's been caught.”

“What do we do?” Vicki said.

“Wait here,” Roger said. “The GC will come back and question me. I'll let you know what I find out.”

Roger left as the sun was going down. Vicki, Shelly, and Conrad huddled in a corner of the cave.

“Wonder if those people in Maryland are okay?” Conrad said.

“We did all we could,” Shelly said.

Vicki shook her head. “All our stuff was with Pete. If the GC get our computer, they could find out about the Young Trib Force.”

“Pete's been through this before,” Conrad said. “He'll be okay.”

“I should have stayed with him,” Vicki said.

Shelly changed the subject. “These people were sure hungry to hear what you said.”

“They're starved for information,” Vicki said. “Now they know what's coming.”

Two teenagers tried to start a fire, but Greg made them put it out. “No fires! The GC will see the smoke.”

Someone opened the sack Roger had left and found cheese, crackers, and fruit. They all ate hungrily.

“I don't know about you,” Vicki said, “but I'm going to find Pete as soon as it gets dark.”

“The less time I spend in one of these caves, the better,” Shelly said.

“I'm in too,” Conrad said.