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  “I don’t get it,” Westin said. “I mean, I understand the city is going to be destroyed by God, but why would that make you want to come here?”

  Rainer smiled. “When it says, ‘Come away from her, my people,’ we believe that means there will be true followers of God right in New Babylon. We couldn’t imagine who they would be, and then God placed a desire on our hearts to come here and either join this band of brave fighters or become a part of the biblical history.”

  “How many of you came?” Judd said.

  “There were thirty-eight altogether,” Rainer said.

  Judd had asked Rainer earlier if any members of his group had been killed. Rainer hadn’t wanted to talk about it.

  “Those verses beg some questions,” Westin said. “If God’s people are supposed to come out, how are they supposed to do it, and where do they go?”

  Rainer nodded. “I have been thinking about that. It’s clear God has had enough of the lies and killing of New Babylon, so he’s going to destroy this evil city. But there must be something coming that will signal that it’s time for us to leave. That’s what we’ve been waiting for.”

  “Is it possible to talk with someone else?” Judd said. “What’s the leader’s name again?”

  “You mean Otto Weser?”

  “Yeah, he might have some ideas.”

  Rainer pursed his lips. “We have had no contact since … for quite a while. It’s one of our unwritten rules. No one talks with Otto.”

  Judd glanced at Westin. There was something behind this Otto business, and Judd wanted to find out what it was.

  Vicki and a few others had gone outside to watch the sun rise early the next morning. As it peeked over the hills in the distance, Vicki could tell the heat and humidity were gone, along with most of the smoke that had hovered over the valley.

  At noon, Vicki ventured to the knoll above the campground. There was a lot of excitement with the weather change, more news from the Global Community, and activity on the kids’ Web site. But the news of Judd made Vicki want to be alone.

  It was spring, and the trees in the distance should have been covered with buds and new leaves. Instead, the countryside looked like some burned scar.

  Something skittered along the ground and startled her. A half-burned tail flicked back and forth on the side of a tree. A squirrel. How he had survived the heat and fires, Vicki didn’t know, but here he was, scampering up a tree with his charred tail.

  “How many friends have you lost in the last few years, little fella?” Vicki whispered. She brought her knees up to her chest. She and her friends were like this squirrel, foraging, darting into hiding places, hoping to stay alive just one more day.

  Vicki recalled the verse about God knowing even when a sparrow fell from the sky. But did God know every squirrel, raccoon, and deer that died in the heat plague? Did he see the death and devastation and hear the cries of believers who had been killed? Already the Global Community News Network reported arrests and beheadings.

  Will Judd be next?

  Vicki knew it was against the group’s rules to be outside at this time of day, so she stood and started for her cabin. Something was bothering her, and she couldn’t put a finger on it.

  She paused near a burned tree and heard movement at the bottom of the knoll. Someone was coming up the hill.

  A few minutes later Judd found Rainer sitting alone in a room set aside for prayer. Several chairs sat in an empty circle, and Judd took one directly across from the German. Someone had painted a man kneeling in prayer on the wall. On the opposite wall was a painting, torn and weathered, of an old man with a piece of bread in front of him. The old man’s hands were folded, and his eyes were shut tightly. Judd thought the picture looked familiar, then realized it was the same one that hung in his grandparents’ kitchen.

  Rainer looked up, his eyes cloudy. “I suppose you want to know what happened between Otto and me.”

  Judd nodded. “You don’t have to tell me, but it might help me understand.”

  Rainer put his head back and closed his eyes. His face was strong and handsome, and his hair reached his shoulders. Judd knew he had been an actor in Germany, but what kind?

  With his eyes still closed, Rainer spoke. “When light and dark collide and ignorance takes up the sword against understanding, what is left for weary men to do?” He paused, opened his eyes. “We, the weary, pick up pieces from the battlefield and live.”

  “What’s that from?” Judd said.

  “A play I was writing at the time of the disappearances. It wasn’t very good.”

  “Sounded good to me.”

  Rainer smiled. “Do you know what an understudy is?”

  “A person who’s there in case the lead gets sick?”

  “Yes. Before the vanishings, I was just an understudy at life. I knew all the lines and where to move and what to do onstage, but I was watching from behind some curtain. It took the most terrible situation in the world to bring me out of the shadows.”

  “You’re talking about your relationship with God, right?”

  Rainer nodded.

  “Had you heard about God before the disappearances?”

  “Many times. I had an aunt who told my brothers and sisters and me Bible stories. She was very dramatic. I think it was because of her that I wanted to become an actor.”

  “Were your parents believers?”

  “No. They were killed in the earthquake. On a cruise down the Rhine River, the ship capsized and all but a few drowned.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Rainer sighed. “So am I. I went to my aunt’s house not long after she disappeared and relived some of those stories she used to tell. I still have her Bible. But I didn’t make my decision to follow God until I stumbled onto Tsion Ben-Judah’s Web site. My wife and I prayed the night after we discovered it.”

  “And your wife is back in Germany?”

  Rainer closed his eyes. “No, she is waiting for me on the other side. Sometimes I dream that Gretchen and I are together on a beach somewhere. Talking. Laughing. Then I wake up and face this.” He put his head in his hands. “I wish I could go back and talk to the people we were before the disappearances. I would convince us of the truth before any of this happened.”

  Rainer looked at Judd with tears in his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m here in New Babylon because it’s God’s will for me, or if I’m on a mission of death. One mistake and I’d be reunited with my wife forever.”

  “What happened to her?” Judd said.

  Vicki moved behind the tree and watched as Lionel made his way toward the knoll. She thought about jumping out and scaring him but decided against it.

  “Marshall sent me up here to see about you,” Lionel said when he had caught his breath. “You okay?”

  Vicki asked Lionel to sit. “I was up here thinking. I like this place. I’m going to miss it when I go to Petra.”

  Lionel bit his lower lip. “Vicki, I’ve always appreciated what a friend you’ve been, and I couldn’t be happier for you and Judd …”

  “But what?”

  Lionel shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe God’s trying to tell you something. Maybe you shouldn’t go to Petra. Maybe Judd shouldn’t have gone to New Babylon.” Vicki slipped an arm around Lionel, and the young man hung his head. “He’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I just wish he would be more careful.”

  Vicki looked at the sky. It had been weeks since she had seen any real clouds. Now some dark ones moved in and threatened rain. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens after the Glorious Appearing,” she said.

  “Wondering if we’ll know each other, if people will get married. If those who were married before the Rapture will be reunited.”

  “And what about people like Captain Steele?” Lionel said. “He was married to Mrs. Steele and then married Amanda. What about that?”

  “I’ve been looking at Scripture, but I can’t figure it out. There’s got to be an answer.”
/>   “Why not go right to the top?” Lionel stood. “Let’s get back. You can write Dr. Ben-Judah.”

  Judd listened as Rainer’s story unfolded. The man described how he had met Otto Weser at a secret Bible study. Their first fight with Global Community forces had been in Stuttgart. It was Otto’s idea to come into the heart of Carpathia territory, and thirty-seven others had followed.

  “Otto is a verbose man. He rattles on and on. Well, we finally found a way to fly into the desert and take a slow route in separate vehicles. Otto didn’t like it. He thought we should all go together, pretending to be GC recruits. There was such a disagreement that many split from the group. About a dozen decided to go a different way.”

  “And you went with Otto?” Judd said.

  “Yes. Everything seemed fine during the trip. Our plane landed, and we bought an old school bus and started the journey across the desert. Otto was sure God was leading us. We huddled in the back of the bus, praying. My wife and I broke away from the others at one point and had our own prayer time.”

  Rainer pulled out his wallet and opened to a picture of a woman with long, dark hair. She looked like a famous actress Judd had seen. “She’s very beautiful.”

  “Yes, she was.” Rainer folded his wallet and put it away. “We were carrying some sophisticated heat weapons, along with machine guns and old AK-47s. It was our plan, if we were stopped, to take out any GC force before they could report us.

  “We came to an unexpected checkpoint, a surprise from the Global Community. Before we could react, several Peacekeepers had surrounded the bus. We took our positions as Otto got out. We fired all of the heat weapons and the Peacekeepers rolled on the ground, but one of them managed to lob a grenade at the back of the bus. If we had seen it, we would have been able to react, but no one did.”

  “And the explosion killed your wife?” Judd said.

  “It was a chest wound. She was in much pain. She said that I should carry on the fight without her. The last thing she said was that she would be waiting for me on the other side.”

  Judd sat back and shook his head. He couldn’t imagine the man’s pain at seeing his wife die. “How many died?”

  3

  JUDD watched the people in the hideout go into crisis mode. He and Westin stood back as the group sealed doors and tried to make it impossible for the GC to enter.

  “They’ve placed booby traps around the house, but they’re not activated yet,” Westin said.

  “What kind of booby traps?”

  “Explosives. Mines.”

  “We need everyone quiet and in your places,” Rainer called. “Judd, you and Westin come with me.”

  In the lowest point of the basement was a row of computers and machines. The chief technical person, a woman Judd knew only as Helga, manipulated a mechanical arm on the first floor. With a few quick movements she pushed some charred debris over the trapdoor, pulled a tarp over the whole mess, and made the mechanical arm disappear into the floor.

  A silence fell over the room as the monitor showed a GC squad car making its way down the street. Peacekeepers carrying rifles followed.

  “Are they looking for bodies?” Judd whispered.

  “With rifles?” Rainer said. “They may find bodies in the rubble around here, but they’re looking for anyone alive without the mark of Carpathia.”

  The squad car finally pulled in front of the safe house, and several Peacekeepers approached.

  Helga turned to Rainer, who was scribbling something on paper. “Wait for my signal.”

  The Peacekeepers knocked on the sides of the house and called out. A Peacekeeper walked up to the porch and banged the door.

  Judd could feel his heart beating as he watched. The room grew hotter with all the bodies and equipment.

  Judd had felt unnerved by Rainer and the others talking about war and killing. There was quite a difference in being against the Global Community—escaping from them and fighting for the souls of people who had not yet taken the mark—and actually killing Carpathia followers. On the other hand, God was going to judge evil. Judd wanted to hear what Tribulation Force leaders would say. Would they actually shoot to kill and be a part of the final battle?

  Judd noticed a panel filled with buttons and knobs. Underneath each was a piece of tape with writing. Judd pointed to it and Westin leaned over. “Helga told me those activate the bombs. And those over there are for guns hidden in a burned-out part of the roof.”

  “They can actually shoot by remote control?”

  Westin nodded. “But once we start shooting, we give away our position. The GC can come in and wipe us out.”

  Rainer pushed his way through the gathering and into the hall. He paused when he came to Judd and handed him an envelope. “Take this.”

  Nothing was written on the envelope. Judd shoved it in his pocket.

  Rainer tapped another man on the shoulder and they were gone.

  “Is there any other way out of here?” Judd said to Westin.

  Westin shrugged.

  A man beside him leaned over. “There is an air lock on the other side of the basement that leads into the sewers. That’s only to be used as a last resort.”

  “There are more officers coming,” Helga said, looking around. “Where’s Rainer?”

  A buzzer pierced the small room, and a red light blinked on the computer.

  Helga turned the alarm off. “The air lock is open. Someone’s going outside.”

  Rainer, Judd thought.

  Several men rushed out of the room. Judd kept his eyes on the monitor showing the roving Peacekeepers.

  They poked and prodded through the rubble above. One man pulled the tarp back and noticed the scattered debris.

  Minutes seemed like hours. A man returned. “Rainer and Klaus are gone. They’ve taken several weapons.”

  “What could he be doing?” Judd said.

  Westin pointed at the screen. “Watch.”

  Vicki waited for an answer from Tsion Ben-Judah as the others watched the latest news from GCNN. Because of the intense heat, many television transmissions had been interrupted. During the plague, the kids had usually seen coverage only at night. Now that the plague was over, it was clear the Global Community in the United North American States wanted to show they were back in control.

  The sight of Kruno Fulcire turned Vicki’s stomach. He had been the man responsible for her friend Pete’s death, as well as hundreds of other believers who had fallen into the man’s clutches. It was almost as if the military and political leaders around the world were having a contest to see who could kill believers faster.

  Fulcire had chosen to be photographed near a small lake behind one of the many GC headquarters. A fountain sprayed water into the air, and Vicki couldn’t help smirking as he beamed at the applause of the press corps.

  “Looks like he’s got water shooting out his head,” Zeke said.

  “Wouldn’t hurt his brain any,” Conrad said. “He probably doesn’t have one.”

  “Let’s keep it quiet,” Marshall said.

  Fulcire had no notes, charts, or graphs. He simply stood at the podium and smiled. “What a beautiful day.” Laughter rippled through the crowd. “And every day is a great day to serve the risen lord Carpathia.”

  There were enough followers of Nicolae present to break into a hearty rendition of “Hail Carpathia,” but Fulcire sang off-key.

  When they finished, Fulcire grabbed the microphone and began pacing. “The end of this unnatural weather phenomenon comes at a most important time. We believe the United North American States can and will become the most loyal region in all the world. And to do that, we need the help of citizens who have already given so much.”

  “I think I know what he’s leading up to.” Janie smirked. “And it won’t be good for believers.”

  Fulcire beamed, as if Carpathia were watching. “Since we can once again move around in daylight hours, we would like you to report any citizen who has not yet complied with receiving
the mark of our lord and risen king. Anyone discovering an unmarked civilian will receive triple the reward previously offered.”

  “Great, the price for our heads just went up,” Conrad said.

  “Think of all the Nicks we could make if we turned everybody here in,” Zeke said.

  Mark stuck his head in the room and motioned for Vicki. “You have an answer to your message to Tsion.”

  Vicki hurried to the computer on the other side of the room and pulled up Tsion’s e-mail. That the man would answer her personally excited Vicki.

  Vicki,

  Thank you for your question about what will happen in the coming kingdom. As we draw nearer to that time, now only a year away, many people have the same concerns, so you have spurred me to teach more about this here in Petra.

  Let me quickly give you some thoughts. Jesus said that people would be “marrying and giving in marriage” during the Tribulation just as they did during the days before the Flood. See Matthew 24:37-39. But as you know, many who become believers after the Rapture will be martyred for the cause of Christ and will be resurrected after the Glorious Appearing. Many others will survive the Tribulation and be “the sheep” Jesus referred to in Matthew 25:31-40 who go into the kingdom to populate the Millennium, or thousand-year reign of Christ. These, of course, will raise their children and possibly help with the raising of other children who survive but are under the age of accountability when Christ returns.

  The story of the rich man in hell and Lazarus who was a believer—see Luke 16:19-31—is quite clear. In the next life we will still recognize not only those we knew on earth, but as Lazarus, he recognized Abraham who had lived hundreds of years before him. Even those in torment recognized those in paradise. That would indicate we all will recognize one another in the next life. Remember, Paul said, “For me to depart and be with Christ is far better.” So we will have an even better relationship then than we do now.

  I know you still have Judd on your mind, and believe me, we are praying for you both. Whether God allows you to marry or not isn’t the question. The question is, will you trust him for your future? God can use you in the kingdom after his second coming, or he can use you in heaven. Trust him to be faithful.