Frantic (33 page)

When they reached town, Lenore led them to a friend's house. A station wagon was sitting in the driveway. Lenore knocked at the front door but there was no answer.

Vicki heard pecking and found a tiny window in the basement just above ground. She rubbed dirt from the window and spotted two women inside. One was older with gray hair, and the other was middle-aged.

“Is that you, Connie?” Lenore shouted.

“Who is that?” the middle-aged woman yelled.

“Lenore Barker! Is your mother with you?”

“Yes!”

“Have you been stung?” Lenore said.

“Both of us,” Connie shouted. “But only once. We're hiding down here, but the food's about to run out.”

“We've come to help you,” Lenore said.

Lenore told Vicki that Connie and her mother had given her food when no one else would. “I think these two would be perfect for the schoolhouse.”

Vicki and Darrion nodded.

Lenore coaxed the women upstairs and promised the locusts wouldn't sting again.

“We're in bad shape,” Connie said as they made their way outside. The two were pale as ghosts and squinted at the sunlight. They had been bitten the first day of the locust attack and hadn't been outside since. They both felt that the effects of the stings were wearing off a little.

Connie and her mother cowered as locusts buzzed around them saying, “Apollyon.”

“They won't bite you twice,” Lenore said.

“How is Tolan?” Connie asked. “We haven't seen you since the big freeze.”

Lenore told them about her husband's death and how the kids had rescued her. “We'd like to use your car to take people to a hospital we've set up. We'll help take care of you until you get your strength back.”

Connie and her mother agreed to go but said their car was out of gas. While Lenore helped clear junk out of it, Vicki and Darrion went to a gas station for fuel.

On the way, Vicki and Darrion discovered two teenage girls wandering the street. They seemed in so much pain that they could hardly listen to Vicki's questions about wanting help. Finally, she convinced them to follow her to the station wagon.

By the time they made it back to the car with fuel, Lenore had met another middle-aged woman who wanted to go to the schoolhouse.

“God is working it out,” Lenore said. “We have a whole carful without even trying.”

“Should we say anything about God before we leave?” Darrion said. “Just to see their reaction?”

Lenore shook her head. “Let's show them God's love by our actions. Take them in, give them a place to recover, and eventually they'll ask us why we're doing this. Then we tell them and invite them to study the Bible with us.”

Others in the neighborhood heard people were offering help and came running. A group gathered around the station wagon and pleaded to be taken to the makeshift hospital.

“This could get out of hand,” Darrion said.

“We have to be ready to help them no matter what they do with the message,” Vicki said. “If they reject it, we'll help them get better and they'll be on their way in a few weeks.”

A few others wandered onto the scene, asking what was going on. Each had been stung. Vicki saw some with bloody marks on their wrists. One man had a rope burn around his neck.

Vicki turned and walked a few steps away. Darrion followed. “What is it?”

Vicki wiped away a tear. “I was just thinking about that place in the Bible where Jesus looked at the crowds of people around him and saw all their problems. He felt pity for them. The people had no idea where to go for help.”

“Just like these people,” Darrion said.

Vicki nodded. “I memorized this part. Jesus told his disciples, ‘The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.'”

Darrion looked at the people. “You know what's weird? With everybody we've talked to today, I haven't seen one believer. Is everybody hiding while these people suffer?”

Vicki put her head in her hands. “Good point. You've helped me make two decisions. We have to take in as many people at the schoolhouse as we can.”

“What's the other decision?” Darrion said.

“We have to get this message out,” Vicki said. “I have to meet with as many groups as possible.”

30

VICKI
returned to a flurry of activity at the schoolhouse. Mark and the others had moved the computer equipment and had set up cots throughout the first floor. Shelly had convinced the others to let Melinda come upstairs. Janie had screamed at them and remained downstairs.

Conrad made a schedule and handed it to everyone when they arrived. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were at specific times, and each person was asked to help with some duty, no matter how small. Some couldn't help because their stings were more recent, but many were nearing the end of their suffering.

Mark came up to Vicki. He looked worried. “We forgot something.”

“What?”

“We didn't tell Z. This is his family's place, and we've just opened up a secret.”

“I'll call him,” Vicki said.

Z answered on the first ring with his familiar drawl. He was a big man, burly, with tattoos, but his voice was high-pitched. Vicki had liked Z from the moment they had met.

“Pete told me about your trip south,” Z said. “We saw a report last night that the GC had caught up with that Traickin guy. He's in custody.”

“He fooled a lot of believers, but he won't anymore.”

“Pete wants to talk with you.”

“Wait. I have news.” Vicki explained Lenore's idea and how many people they had brought to the schoolhouse. “We want to open up the schoolhouse to anyone who needs help.”

Z paused. “And you want to know if I'll go along with the plan?”

“Will you?”

Z gave a belly laugh. “Little lady, from the moment you told me about your dream to set up a training center, it was only logical that you'd bring in unbelievers at some point.”

“Really?”

“Of course, it's risky. If the GC gets wind of it, they'll be crawling all over that place and taking our supplies. That's why Dad and I located a couple of warehouses closer to us.”

“So you think this is a good idea?”

Z chuckled. “You've got a good heart, you care about people, and you want to do what God wants you to do. I'm with you.”

Vicki nearly cried when Z finished. Pete got on the phone and apologized for not being at the schoolhouse sooner. “We're going over my routes. Looks like I'm headed your way with some things for the people who've been stung; then I'm headed east.”

Vicki frowned. “We were hoping you'd take us with you out west.” She explained the idea about talking to other groups of believers around the country.

“You're always welcome in my truck,” Pete said, “but it might be better for you to go this alone.” Pete told her he would be at the schoolhouse in the next few days with supplies.

When she hung up, Vicki gathered the others in the computer room upstairs. They couldn't find Charlie but decided to go ahead without him. Shelly suggested they use the station wagon for the trip.

Conrad questioned whether the car would hold up. “That thing's so old it'll probably break down before you get to Iowa.”

“If Pete can't take us, what other option do we have?”

Conrad stood. “Maybe somebody knows of another car. I'll check.”

Darrion opened a map showing cities and towns west of Illinois. Roadways were highlighted in yellow. “This is a list of areas where most of the requests are coming from. These roads are all in operation. Assuming we could contact the people, we could head out tomorrow.”

Mark sighed. “I know this was my idea, but I've been thinking about the risks. You're probably going to reach a few hundred people.”

“Try a few thousand,” Darrion said.

“Hang on,” Vicki said. “God's more concerned with people's hearts than big numbers. He used a little boy's lunch to feed thousands, right?”

The kids nodded.

“For a long time I've concentrated on how small I am, how little I have to offer,” Vicki continued. “That's not the point. The point is how big God is and what he wants to do.”

Shelly nodded. “I wish I knew about God before all this happened. I would have told as many people as I could.”

Conrad came back into the room out of breath. “You're not going to believe this. Come with me.”

Lionel awakened when Judd returned to Yitzhak's house. He wanted to talk about their next move, but Judd fell into bed and went to sleep.

Things had happened so quickly after Pavel's funeral in New Babylon. Lionel was glad to get away from there, but he really wanted to get back home, not only for himself but also for Sam, who seemed to be getting more and more concerned about being in Israel.

Lionel was also upset about Judd and Nada. He had gone back and forth about confronting Judd. Was it any of Lionel's business what Judd did with his personal life? Finally, Lionel had talked with Judd and told him what he thought. Now that they were relatively safe from the Global Community, Lionel feared they would stay put.

Sam awoke and met Lionel at the breakfast table. The boy looked troubled. “I've been having dreams,” he said.

“About what?” Lionel said.

“My father. He is running after me in his GC uniform. He has a weapon and yells at me to stop. He says he wants me to tell him where Tsion Ben-Judah is hiding. They catch me and put me in prison.”

“What happens then?” Lionel said.

Sam looked away. “That is what scares me most of all. In the end I tell him. Dr. Ben-Judah is found and arrested.”

“But you don't even know where Tsion is,” Lionel said. “None of us do.”

“I know that,” Sam said, “but it still frightens me.”

Judd finally awoke and came to the table. He told them about Nada's parents' reaction to Kasim.

When he was finished, Lionel said, “I'm happy for Nada's family and that you're back together, but we need to talk about Sam.” Lionel shared Sam's nightmares.

“How long have you had these?” Judd said.

“For the past three nights. I wake up sweating because they're so real.”

Judd pursed his lips. “I used to think dreams came because of something you ate, but now I pay more attention. Do you think God's trying to tell you something?”

Lionel smirked. “Yeah, he's telling us to get out of here and go home.”

Judd ignored Lionel and turned to Sam.

“I assume God's telling me I'm in some sort of danger. My fear is that my father will come through the door any minute and arrest all of us.”

“I wouldn't worry about that,” Judd said. “This place is safe. Just keep praying for your dad.”

“Since I came with you, I've prayed for him every day.” Sam stared at the floor.

“What is it?” Lionel said.

“I have a confession. I went out earlier to find a pay phone and called the hospital.”

“You what?” Judd said.

“What did you find out?” Lionel said.

“I didn't tell them who I was. They would only say that my father was released some time ago.”

Judd shook his head. “You can't make contact. Like you said, it's dangerous, not just for you but for all of us.”

Sam nodded and Lionel asked to speak with Judd privately. When they were alone, Lionel said, “You can't bring him back here and expect him not to wonder about his own flesh and blood. You'd do the same thing if it were your dad.”

“Don't lecture me,” Judd said sternly.

“I'm not lecturing,” Lionel said. “I've been telling you we need to take Sam to the States, but you won't listen. You're too . . .”

“Too what?” Judd said.

“You don't seem with us anymore,” Lionel said. “You're more concerned with your love life—”

“That's it,” Judd said. “I don't have to take this.”

“Maybe I'm wrong,” Lionel said. “Finding Kasim was a good thing, but it just feels like we've lost you as leader of the Young Trib Force.”

Judd ran a hand through his hair. His beard was fuller now, and his hair was getting longer. “We're not going anywhere right now. There aren't any commercial flights, and the pilots with the co-op aren't giving rides.”

“If I could find one, would you go back with us?” Lionel said.

“I don't know,” Judd said.