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  “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.

  Mark followed the news about the former senator from Maryland and was sad to see how many believers had been arrested. Mark had left a phone message at Traickin’s apartment, but it hadn’t helped. As he scanned articles he found on the Internet, he knew something was wrong.

  After Lenore put Tolan down for the night, Mark gathered all the believers together. “If the GC had found believers in Tennessee, it would probably be all over the news,” Mark said.

  “What do you think they’ll do with the Traickin guy?” Darrion said.

  Mark flipped through some news files on the computer and shook his head. “Something’s not right with that story. Before the disappearances, this guy was constantly in the news. He was against President Fitzhugh about the military. They caught him with campaign money and somehow he wiggled out of it. Then the disappearances happened and Carpathia came to power.”

  “What did Traickin say about that?” Darrion said.

  “He supported Nicolae at the start,” Mark said, “but look at this.” Mark turned the screen so everyone could see the story.

  Traickin Urges a Return to God

  While politicians and citizens alike have fallen in love with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Nicolae Carpathia, Senator Chris Traickin has fallen in love with God.

  No stranger to controversy and scandal, Traickin says he believes America and the world may be following an evil man.

  “We have the Pied Piper from Romania here,” Traickin said in an interview from his home in Maryland. “This guy is not a friend of God-fearing Americans.”

  “Well, he was sure right about that,” Darrion said.

  “Now look at this,” Mark said, clicking on another news story. “A week before that story ran, Traickin had a meeting with Carpathia. Then, after World War III breaks out, his name shows up in connection with the militia uprising.”

  “So the guy who fought Fitzhugh about the military winds up being part of the militia?” Darrion said.

  “Yeah, and you know what happened to the militia,” Mark said.

  “It got toasted by GC troops,” Darrion said.

  “Right,” Mark said. “A few months later, Traickin shows up in another story that says he reads Tsion Ben-Judah every day and he’s looking for people who want to stand up against the Globa
l Community.”

  “I don’t get it,” Darrion said.

  Charlie sat forward. “You think this guy is working for Carpathia?”

  “Bingo,” Mark said. “Buck Williams talked about Nicolae’s mind-control tricks. What if he got to Traickin?”

  “You mean he ratted on the militia and now he’s working against believers?” Darrion said.

  “Right,” Mark said.

  “How do you know you’re right?” Lenore said.

  “Does the way Traickin talks sound like any believers you know?” Mark said. “I think this guy was setting a trap and he succeeded.”

  “Then why did the GC take him off in handcuffs?” Lenore said.

  “It’s part of the act,” Mark said.

  Lenore sighed. “I don’t know whether I ought to be praying for that guy or praying against him.”

  Charlie stood and walked toward the stairs. “Do you guys smell that?”

  “What?” Mark said.

  Something dripped from the ceiling. Charlie touched a drop and sniffed it. “Gasoline!”

  Mark looked at Darrion and the others. “Janie and Melinda!”

  Mark took the stairs three at a time and burst into Janie’s room. The girl turned a gas can in her hands. She threw it but Mark ducked. Melinda lay on her bed, dazed. The room smelled like a gas station.

  “What are you doing?” Mark shouted.

  Janie opened a box of matches. “I’m going to end this, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

  Judd awoke early the next morning to the phone ringing. Mr. Rudja said, “It’s for you.”

  Judd staggered to the phone. It was Nada. “I thought Mac made it clear we shouldn’t—”

  “I have to see you,” Nada said. “It’s urgent.”

  “My friend is dying,” Judd said. “I can’t just run out on him.”

  “Please,” Nada said. “I can’t talk on the phone. There’s a park a few blocks from you. Meet me there in a half hour.”

  Vicki tried to sleep but couldn’t. Greg Sowers found her. “We could sure use someone like you around here if you thought you could stay.”

  “I have to find out what happened to Pete,” Vicki said, “then we need to get back to Illinois.”

  “I understand,” Greg said, “but I want you to know we’ll make a place for you and your friends to stay for as long as you’d like.”

  After dark, Vicki, Conrad, and Shelly slipped out, one by one, and met near a grove of pine trees on the hillside. The sky was overcast and the wind had picked up.

  “Wish we had a flashlight,” Shelly said after she tripped and nearly fell.

  “Stay close to me,” Conrad said. “I know the way.”

  When they made it to the bottom, Conrad led them through a field toward the gas station. The kids saw the hazy glare of lights in the distance.

  They slipped through the tall grass and hid in the shadows of the station. Conrad peeked around the corner, then quickly returned. “One of those GC vans is in front.”

  A few minutes later the van pulled away and the kids rushed into the station. Roger Cornwell sat behind a cash register staring out the window.

  “Did they catch Pete?” Vicki said.

  Roger turned and glared at them. “Where are the other believers?”

  “Still at the cave,” Vicki said. “What about Pete?”

  Roger looked away.

  “Tell us!” Shelly said.

  “Pete’s dead,” Roger said. “The truck plunged into a ravine.”

  “But—”

  “It caught fire,” Roger said. “No one could have survived that. The GC think all those believers died too. Pete bought us some time. They’ll be back in the morning to inspect the wreckage, so we have to get those people out of the cave tonight.”

  Vicki sat down hard. They had lost one of their best friends. How would they get back home? And when the GC discovered an empty trailer, what would happen then?

  “I’ll go with you,” Conrad said to Roger. He put a hand on Vicki’s shoulder. “You and Shelly stay here.”

  Vicki nodded. She felt numb. It was going to be a long night.

  Mark couldn’t believe how thin Janie and Melinda had become in such a short time. The kids had given them meals but the girls didn’t eat much. “You’re out of your mind!” Mark yelled. “You want this whole place to go up?”

  “Yeah,” Janie said, “I’m going to prove you wrong. I can kill myself.”

  “You won’t,” Mark said, taking a step closer.

  “You want to go up with us?” Janie said, holding a match next to the box.

  “Okay,” Mark said, backing away. “Let me get everybody out of the house first. The baby’s asleep downstairs.”

  “Okay,” Janie said, pulling the match away, “but you’d better not try anything.”

  Mark yelled for everyone to get out. Lenore ran for Tolan. When Mark was sure everyone was outside he turned to Janie. “I know you think this is the answer to your troubles, but I’ve been reading reports of people jumping off tall buildings, cutting their wrists, everything you can imagine. Not one of them has died, and you won’t either.”

  “Have any of them tried to burn themselves?” Janie said.

  Mark shook his head. “No, but—”

  “I don’t care whether it works or not,” Janie said. “I want the pain to stop!”

  “That’s what I’m telling you,” Mark said. “The pain of the locust sting isn’t going away, no matter what you do. If you try this, you’ll burn yourself and the school.”

  “That’s what you care about, isn’t it?” Janie said. “Your precious hideout.”

  “No,” Mark said. He noticed Melinda shaking uncontrollably. “At least let her out before you do this.”

  Janie looked at Melinda. “You want to go? Then get out of here.”

  “Maybe Mark’s right,” Melinda said, standing. “This might just make things worse for us.”

  As Melinda passed Janie, Mark darted behind her and lunged at the matches. Janie jerked away and Mark fell to the floor.

  “Not fast enough, are you?” Janie said, holding the matches over her head. “Now you’re going up with me.”

  As she struck the match, Charlie bolted through the door and tossed a bucket of water on Janie, dousing the matches. Janie screamed and cursed at him, then tried in vain to strike another match.

  Mark wrestled Janie to the floor and dragged her down the stairs. They would need to keep a tight watch on her in the future.

  Vicki and Shelly huddled behind a counter in the truck stop. They were glad Roger had locked the front door and turned out most of the lights.

  “I can’t believe Pete’s really gone,” Vicki said. She looked at the phone on the counter. “We have to call and tell the others.”

  Vicki reached for the phone. Someone moved at the front door and Vicki hit the floor. She pointed toward the door and Shelly peeked over the counter. “I don’t see anything.”

  Vicki grabbed Shelly and pulled her down just as a GC radio squawked.

  18

  VICKI'S heart beat wildly. She expected a storm of GC Peacekeepers breaking into the station. Instead, someone pecked lightly on the front window.

  “What in the world?” Vicki muttered, peeking around the cash register. A big man stood near the door.

  “Pete!” Vicki screamed. She rushed to the door and unlocked it. “We thought you were dead!”

  Pete hugged Vicki and Shelly. “They’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to kill old Pete.”

  “What happened?” Shelly said.

  “I knew those GC would be right behind me and I remembered a ravine just up the road. No guardrail or anything. I slowed down until I saw the vans in my mirrors. I wanted to draw them away from the gas station until you guys could get to the hills.”

  “It worked,” Vicki said, “but how did you get out?”

  “I put it in neutral and let the thing go,” Pete said, showing them his
scratched-up arms. “Jumped out on the passenger side and rolled into a thicket.

  “The GC were all over the place, scurrying around, dodging the locusts, and trying to see the truck. Fortunately it caught fire and—”

  Pete was cut off by a transmission on the tiny radio he had taken from one of the Peacekeepers. “We’ll head back to the gas station and set up a lookout there,” a man said.

  “Where’s Roger?” Pete said.

  “He went to get everybody out of the cave,” Vicki said.

  “He can’t bring them back here,” Pete said. “We have to stop them.”

  Judd tried to leave Pavel’s apartment quietly, but Mr. Rudja stopped him. “Where are you going?”

  “I have to meet a friend at the park,” Judd said.

  “Sit,” Mr. Rudja said. The man poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter. “My son does not have much longer to live. The doctors are amazed he has held out this long.”

  “I’m really sorry about—”

  The man held up a hand. “I realize you took a great risk coming here, but we also have taken a great risk bringing you. One slip, one mistake could mean being found out by the Global Community.”

  “I understand,” Judd said. “I looked in on Pavel. He’s resting.”

  “Who is it you’re meeting?”

  “A girl.”

  The man smiled. “Ah, even in the middle of the end of the world our hearts can be stirred. . . .”

  Judd chuckled nervously. “I guess, sir.”

  “The park is a ten-minute walk,” he said, pointing out the window. “If you’re not back in an hour, I’ll send someone—”

  “I’ll be back,” Judd said.

  The streets were nearly deserted. Every road seemed to sparkle. Glass buildings reflected the sunlight.

  The park looked like Judd’s idea of the Garden of Eden. There were immense trees imported from various countries. Vines, ivy, and moss hung from branches and grew on rock walls. Ponds were stocked with exotic fish from every part of the world. Colored gravel filled a jogging path that passed a lush, green field. He spotted Nada at a bench and ran to greet her.