Frantic (31 page)

The woman from Enigma Babylon One World Faith stood. Mr. Rudja put up a hand. “I'm almost finished.”

“Yes,” the woman said nervously, “but you need to hurry.”

Mr. Rudja kept reading. “‘I prayed a simple prayer with a friend of mine over the Internet. Wherever you are, you can do it right from your seat.'”

Mr. Rudja read the prayer, then told anyone who had prayed it to read material on Tsion Ben-Judah's Web site.

Judd glanced around the room. Some people were sniffling. Others seemed angry. Judd counted four other people in the room who had received the mark of the believer.

“My son concludes with this,” Mr. Rudja said. “‘There is one king, one ruler who deserves your devotion and loyalty. His name is Jesus. May my life praise him and him alone for all eternity.'”

Mr. Rudja folded the paper and looked at the audience. When he saw those with the mark on their forehead, he smiled. “Amen,” he said. He looked at Judd and nodded.

Judd, Sam, and Lionel rose and followed Mr. Rudja out a side door. The audience watched them leave, clearly stunned.

“We have to hurry to the airport,” Mr. Rudja said. “I've chartered a plane. You're getting out of here.”

It was late when the truck pulled up to the schoolhouse. Vicki jumped out and hugged Lenore and Tolan. The others came out to greet the kids and Pete.

“Where's Charlie?” Vicki said.

“Asleep,” Mark said.

Pete found a place to rest. Conrad and Shelly sat in the kitchen and told everyone what they had been through. Vicki grabbed a sandwich and met with Mark in the computer room. She typed an e-mail to Omer in Tennessee and asked him to call their secure phone.

“If it hadn't been for him,” Vicki said, “we would have brought that Traickin guy right here.”

“How much did you guys tell Traickin before Omer caught up to you?” Mark said.

Vicki shook her head. “Too much. I can't remember everything Pete said, but the GC knows a bunch of us are working together.”

Mark opened a file of e-mails and Vicki shook her head. Kids from around the country had read what the Gowin brothers in South Carolina had written about the Young Trib Force's teaching. As Vicki read the e-mails, the phone rang. It was Omer.

“I'm glad you made it home,” Omer said.

“I can't thank you enough for helping us. We heard there were some arrests.”

“Yeah, I was up on the hill when they came for my mom. There was nothing I could do.”

“I'm so sorry, Omer.”

“They got that guy at the gas station too.”

“Roger?”

“Yeah,” Omer said. “When I get over the sting, we're going to get them out, one way or another.”

“What do you mean?” Vicki said.

“I believe what you said about the GC being mean and all. A few of us are here at the house making plans. We're getting them out of there.”

“Omer, they'll kill you,” Vicki said.

“Maybe, but it beats sitting around like scared rabbits.”

“What about the other stuff I told you?”

“I don't see how a God who's supposed to love his people could allow them to be hauled off to jail like they did my mom.”

“Please,” Vicki said, “you have to listen—”

“No, I have to go. I'll let you know how we make out.”

Vicki hung up and told Mark what Omer had said. “I've got a bad feeling about this. . . .”

Mark held up a hand and nodded toward the door. Charlie stood in the darkness. Vicki ran and hugged him.

“See anything different about me?” Charlie said.

Vicki shook her head.

Charlie stepped into the light. “I finally got that old mark,” he said, beaming.

Vicki stared at Charlie's forehead and couldn't hold back the tears.

28

JUDD
and the others rushed to pick up Kasim and Nada. They went straight to an airfield on the outskirts of New Babylon.

“Where are we going?” Judd said.

“I didn't want to tell you my plans before the funeral,” Mr. Rudja said. “I made arrangements before Pavel died to find a pilot and get you back to Israel.”

“You're going to be an enemy of the GC now,” Judd said.

“Yes,” Mr. Rudja said as they pulled onto the tarmac and sped toward a private jet. “Pavel's last wish was for his funeral to tell the truth about God. I couldn't let him down. And you saw there were at least four people who became believers.”

“But if Fortunato or Carpathia hear about what you said—,” Lionel said.

“I have friends who still need this message. I'll be careful, but if it means I am arrested for my faith, so be it.”

The kids hugged Mr. Rudja and got on the plane. Their pilot was a believer named Hank Keller. He had known Mr. Rudja from previous military service and was the newest member of the Commodity Co-op organized by Chloe Williams.

As they flew toward Israel, Hank told his story of becoming a follower of Jesus shortly after the disappearances. “There were so many theories about what had happened. My father drove a cab in New York and was working the late shift. He'd just picked up a couple from a club in Greenwich Village when it happened. The car went out of control and slammed into a store window. The couple lived. I tracked them down from a news story I found.”

“What did they say?” Judd said.

“It was just like all the stories,” Hank said. “My dad was there one second and gone the next. He was talking to the couple about God. I guess they were pretty drunk and just laughed at him.”

“When did you put it all together?” Judd said.

“I went through his stuff at his apartment. He and my mom had been divorced for about fifteen years. I found notes he had made and letters my mom returned without opening. He said he was sorry for messing up their lives. He had found God at some big church in town and wanted the rest of his family to find the same kind of peace.

“The scariest part was finding the place where my dad made a prediction about what was going to happen. He wrote something like, ‘One day Jesus is going to come and take his children away. I just want the rest of you to be there with me.'”

Kasim became quiet as they neared Israel. Nada held his hand.

Lionel asked Hank what the chances were of getting a ride back to the States.

“I might be able to take you at some point, but I'm not headed that way for a few weeks.” Hank gave them his card and told Lionel to contact him.

When they landed, they thanked Hank and rented a car. Only compacts were available, so the five squeezed into one and headed for Jerusalem.

Nada helped them navigate the streets. Finally, they found Yitzhak's house. Kasim took a deep breath.

“You're not the one who needs to be worried,” Nada said.

Kasim smiled. “They'll be happy to see us all.”

Kasim knocked on the door. Someone peeked through a side window. Finally, Yitzhak opened the door and hurried them inside.

“Where are my parents?” Nada said.

“We had to move them,” Yitzhak said. “Neighbors were becoming suspicious about the number of people staying with me.”

“Who's been here?” Judd said.

“Many witnesses from around the world. We have a network of safe houses now.”

Yitzhak took them to a downstairs room filled with cots. Three men slept soundly. “These arrived two days ago and have told us extraordinary things. I want you to meet them when they awaken.”

“We need to find my parents,” Nada said.

Yitzhak wrote an address on a piece of paper. “Would you like to call before you go?”

“No,” Nada said. “I want to surprise them.”

Vicki met with the others at the schoolhouse while Pete drove to meet with Zeke at his gas station. Pete said he would be in touch before he made his next supply run.

Lenore took Vicki aside and asked to speak privately. “Thank you again for taking care of Tolan and me. I'm learning so much that I'm afraid I'm not doing enough to earn my keep.”

Vicki smiled. “Mark says you're the best thing that's happened to us since we found the schoolhouse.”

“I appreciate that, but I'm wondering if I could do more.”

“Such as?”

“Have you seen the girls downstairs?”

“Melinda and Janie? I was going to but . . .”

“You put it off,” Lenore said. “You're just as scared as the rest of us are to go down there and see what they've become.”

Vicki nodded. “I've heard them moaning and screaming. Gives me the creeps.”

“Well, I felt the same way for a long time. Had to make myself go down there. Then a strange thing happened. I felt drawn to them. I felt God calling me to talk with them. I think I gave them a little hope in a hopeless situation.”

“So, what do you want to do?”

Lenore leaned closer. “I feel like God wants us to open this place up to anybody who's hurting. I know it's a risk. But once people see how much we love them and try to help them, maybe they'll believe our message.”

Vicki blinked. “You mean, make the schoolhouse like a hospital?”

“We could keep the teaching area separate from the people who've been stung. If they show an interest in God, we'll teach them. If not, we help them get better and let them go.”

“Where would the people come from?” Vicki said.

“There are lots of people in town who need help. And I know of a station wagon we could use to bring people back.”

“Let me think about it and talk with the others,” Vicki said. “Right now I need to do something.”

The kids had cleaned up the basement and tried to make the rooms more comfortable, but Janie had torn down lights and coverings for the walls. Vicki knocked and opened the trapdoor that led to the deepest part of the hideout. The last time she was here the locusts were after Lenore and Tolan.

Melinda sat on a bed, her back against the wall. Her hair hung in front of her face. Janie stood in the corner, arms folded. She looked like she hadn't eaten in weeks.Her skin was pale, her lips chapped. Janie stared at Vicki. The girl's eyes seemed vacant, like the lights were on but there was no one home.

Janie stared at Vicki but didn't respond when Vicki said hello. “Don't look at me that way—you're creeping me out,” Vicki said.

Janie's voice was hollow. “Are you here to rescue us or to keep us locked up?”

“What do you mean?”

“They're torturing us. It's not enough that we're in pain; they lock us in the dark.”

“From what I heard, you were dangerous to yourselves and the others.”

“She almost burned the place down,” Melinda said.

“Shut up!” Janie shouted.

Vicki backed away. The girls looked like someone from a bad horror movie had done their makeup. Only this was real.

“Take a good look at us!” Janie shouted. “You think your God can save us now?”

Before Vicki could answer, Melinda said to Janie, “Leave her alone. She hasn't done anything but try to help.”

“Help?” Janie said. “She tried to shove her religion down our throats.”

Vicki sat on Melinda's bed. “Are you feeling any better?”

Melinda swallowed hard. “I don't know whether the pain has lessened or if I've just gotten used to it. I keep thinking about Felicia and how much better off she is—”

“Who's Felicia?” Janie shouted.

“The Morale Monitor she came here with,” Vicki said. “She drank some water that was poisoned and died.”

“I wish I had drunk that water,” Janie said.

Vicki spoke softly to Melinda. “God's still trying to get your attention. In a few weeks, you won't feel as bad. You'll be tempted to forget what you've gone through.”

“I'll never forget this,” Melinda said.

“How do you know we're going to get better?” Janie sneered.

“Tsion Ben-Judah says the sting's effect lasts a few months; then it wears off. Pretty soon those locusts will be gone and something else is going to happen. Something terrible.”