Stung (30 page)

Vicki fought to keep Melinda awake and alive. Phoenix whimpered as Janie and Charlie still bickered over who would sleep next to him. Finally, Charlie gave up and let Janie pull Phoenix close. Janie said, “I read a book once where this guy was freezing to death and he used his dog to stay alive. Won't tell you what the guy did, but he had to kill the dog.”

Throughout the night Vicki listened to the occasional groan from the kids, the crackling fire, and the whistling wind. At sundown, the wind had seemed to pick up and send the temperature plunging way below zero. Tonight it howled, as if a storm were brewing. Branches from a nearby tree scratched at the windowpane.

Mark scooted close and asked about Melinda. “I can't get her any nearer to the fire without burning her clothes,” Vicki said.

“How long will this last?”

Vicki studied Melinda. “I don't think we can take much more and still keep them alive. This fire's all the heat we have.”

Mark asked Vicki about Judd and Lionel, then brought up Carl Meninger's mysterious e-mail. Carl had known Mark's cousin John and wanted to meet with Mark. Others questioned whether Carl was a threat to the Young Tribulation Force.

“I have to see him and find out what's up,” Mark said, “but I'll make sure we don't meet nearby—”

A thunderous crack interrupted Mark. Glass and snow flew about the room as a branch rammed through the window. Snow gushed in, dousing the fire instantly with a loud hiss.

The kids were plunged into total darkness.

Lionel hated the thought of leaving Judd, but Jamal had ordered him. Lionel waited as long as he could, but when he saw the lights of the GC squad car, he hit the accelerator and sped away.

Lionel had never driven a car alone. He had backed out of Judd's driveway a few times just for grins, but this was different. A wave of relief swept over him when he finally arrived at Jamal's house. When he had the car safely sheltered, he trudged upstairs.

Jamal scolded Nada, but she didn't back down. “What would you have done if a friend said they were going to call and didn't?” she said.

“Go,” Jamal said, pointing to her room, “I don't want to hear it.”

“You treat me like a child,” Nada said.

“You act like one—I treat you like one.”

“Sir, she was just trying to protect me,” Samuel said.

Jamal stared at the boy. “I am glad you have become a true believer in Jesus, your Messiah. However, that does not excuse my daughter's disobedience.”

Nada came into the room again, her hands clasped in front of her. “Father, you know how much I love you.

I want to obey you, and I'll admit I made a mistake.”

“It could have cost your life,” Jamal said.

“Yes, but it is
my
life. I have to make decisions on my own.”

Lionel paced the floor. “Let's focus on Judd right now, okay? What are they going to do with him?”

Samuel shrugged. “They'll take him to headquarters and question him.”

“And he will lead them directly here,” Jamal said.

Lionel sighed. “Judd won't do that.”

“Don't you remember what the GC did to your friend Mr. Stein?” Jamal said. “They only let him go because they thought he was dead!”

“Wait,” Lionel said, “what about the potentate's order? Won't they have to let him go?”

“What order?” Nada said, poking her head back into the room. “We didn't hear anything.”

Lionel explained that Nicolae Carpathia had tried to bargain with the witnesses, Eli and Moishe, at the Wailing Wall. When the two witnesses stopped talking, Carpathia had cleared the Trib Force of any wrongdoing. “He also said nobody who agrees with the teachings of Dr. Ben-Judah is considered a fugitive or an enemy of the Global Community. Believers are supposed to be able to travel and do what any other citizen can do.”

“That means they'll release Judd,” Nada said.

“What the potentate says in front of the cameras and what happens in a Global Community jail cell are two different things,” Jamal said.

“What if we reach him?” Nada said.

Lionel looked at Samuel. “Know anyone you can trust who works with your father?”

Samuel pursed his lips. “A lieutenant who knew my mother might—”

Jamal interrupted. “It is too great a risk. You will not make the call from here.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Lionel said. “We have to let Judd know—”

“Pray that God will intervene,” Jamal said.

Vicki yelled, “Is anyone hurt?”

“My leg's broken!” Janie screamed. But when the kids moved the branch, Janie only had a scratch.

Conrad found an old newspaper in the next room, lit a match, and set the paper on fire. The wind blew it out. He stepped into the hallway and lit it again. “Grab anything that will keep you warm and follow me!” Conrad yelled.

Vicki helped Melinda to her feet. Flakes of ice clung to the girl's eyebrows, and she shivered violently.

Phoenix bounded away from Janie and down the stairs toward Conrad. “It's gonna be colder down there than it is up here!” Janie whined.

Mark helped Charlie to his feet, and they stumbled down the stairs. Vicki hated to admit it but Janie was right. As they moved farther underground, the temperature fell.

“Trust me,” Conrad said.

Vicki was the last through the underground entrance. She closed the door. The icy wind no longer whipped at her clothes, but she could barely stand the freezing cold.

Conrad and Mark brought wood stored in the tunnel and piled it on the earthen floor. “If we can get a fire going, the wind won't be able to blow it out.”

Janie picked an icicle off the side of a wall. “We're all going to wind up human Popsicles.”

“Stop it,” Vicki said.

“At least there aren't snakes and bugs,” Shelly said.

Vicki bundled Melinda in blankets and rubbed the girl's arms and shoulders.

“I can't feel my feet,” Melinda said.

Smoke filled the room when the fire started. The kids gasped for air. Conrad opened the entrance to the tunnel. “This will work as a flue.”

Smoke floated through the opening, and the kids breathed easier. “It's going to take a while to warm up,” Conrad said.

In the corner, Darrion and Shelly prayed softly. Janie cornered Phoenix again and dragged him as close to the fire as he would go.

While Mark stoked the fire, Conrad joined Vicki. “This is the only place I could think of. Any other spot in the house and we'd burn the place down.”

Vicki nodded. “It was good thinking.”

“I'm sorry about turning off the generator—”

“You were trying to conserve energy. It's not your fault.”

“I keep thinking about Eli and Moishe. I wish we could have seen what happened. Do you think they killed Carpathia?”

Vicki shook her head. “It's not his time yet. Tsion says the witnesses will die before Nicolae. I just hope God puts a stop to this judgment soon.”

Melinda moaned and complained about her feet. Vicki carefully pulled the covers back and helped take off her shoes and socks. The right foot was pale but looked okay. When Vicki took off Melinda's left shoe, she gasped. Three of her toes were turning a dark blue.

“That's frostbite,” Conrad whispered.

Judd sat in an interrogation room at the Global Community precinct. Only a few officers were at their desks when he was brought in from the cold. He rubbed his wrists where the icy handcuffs had been.
At least the station is warm
, he thought.

Judd hoped Nada and the others had gotten away without being seen. He wondered whether the GC would track them down. He kicked himself for putting Nada in that situation and resolved that no matter what the GC did to him he would never tell them about Jamal's apartment building.

Judd's thoughts turned to the kids in Illinois. What would Vicki say about this? Judd figured she had the generator going and the schoolhouse warm. He smiled.

Without thinking, Judd began to pray. It was as natural as breathing. Just speak to God. He knew the Bible said believers should pray continually. That was something his mother had quoted when he was younger. He had laughed at her. He used to think it meant you had to be in a church service your entire life. Now he knew it meant just giving your thoughts and concerns to God.

Judd asked God to give him the right words to say to the GC. As he prayed, he wondered if God had placed him in the hands of the Global Community for a reason. His friend Pete had talked about God to a GC officer. It was a stretch, but there might be someone here who needed to hear the truth.

A man entered the interrogation room, then quickly retreated, leaving the door open. A nearby television showed a report about the two witnesses and Potentate Carpathia. Judd couldn't believe what Nicolae was saying about the Trib Force and the followers of Tsion Ben-Judah.

Mr. Goldberg entered with a tall man. Judd looked down at the small wooden table and shifted in his seat. The tall man riffled through papers, then stared at Judd. When he spoke, Judd thought he recognized the voice, but he couldn't place it.

“I am Deputy Commander Woodruff,” the man said, looking at Judd's fake papers. He read the information aloud and said, “Is that correct?”

Judd stared at the man.

“Are you a follower of Ben-Judah?”

“Have the things the rabbi predicted come true?” Judd said.

Deputy Commander Woodruff folded his arms.

“Even the brilliant Chaim Rosenzweig has said we should look to the rabbi for wisdom,” Judd said, “so I guess the answer is yes.”

Mr. Goldberg jumped from his chair. “You'll be sorry you talked that way!”

The deputy commander calmed Mr. Goldberg and turned to Judd. “We have reason to believe you know where Ben-Judah is hiding. If that is the case, we will get the information from you.”

Judd leaned close and lowered his voice. “Why would you need to know the hiding place of someone who is not wanted by the Global Community?”

Woodruff frowned. Judd repeated what he had heard Nicolae Carpathia say on the news report. “I'd say you are in direct violation of an order given by the potentate himself. And if those two witnesses at the Wailing Wall hear you're holding someone simply because I agree with the rabbi, things are going to stay cold for a long time.”

The two men stepped outside the room. “I didn't hear that the potentate had lifted—,” Mr. Goldberg said as they closed the door. A few minutes later a guard escorted Judd back to his cell.

27

VICKI
helped Melinda through the night. Mark had learned first aid in the militia and grabbed a pot from the kitchen to melt snow. When the water was warm, he soaked Melinda's foot and rubbed the darkened toes.

“Can't make this water too hot or it'll hurt her,” Mark said.

When Melinda moaned, Vicki found aspirin in a bottle and gave her a drink. When morning came, Melinda's toes were blistered but she could move them slightly.