Frantic Read online

  When the last person was through, Sam slammed the door shut. Judd and Lionel raced down the jetway and found the plane door open. Judd rushed in first. What he saw would stay with him the rest of his life. People lay on top of each other in the aisle, writhing in pain. Locusts flew at people’s heads and arms as they flailed to keep the beasts away. One woman toward the back knocked a demon away with her purse, only to have another fly at her from behind and sting her neck.

  Judd opened the cockpit door and found the flight crew slumped over and moaning. The normally calm and collected flight attendant was hysterical. She had been stung on the arm and pushed through the sea of bodies screaming for the first-aid kit.

  “What do we do now?” Lionel said.

  Judd shook his head.

  Vicki ignored the pain in her hand and helped Shelly and Darrion plug the hole by the door. Lenore and Tolan huddled in the corner.

  Vicki took the piece of wood and the baby’s blanket and opened the door to the room above them. The locusts clicked and buzzed around. Melinda sat on the floor in the middle of the room, and Charlie cowered in the corner. Vicki stunned the three locusts and wrapped them in the blanket. She called for Conrad. “I’m holding three trapped demons. Can you open the door?”

  The locusts inside the blanket were awake now and trying frantically to bite through. Finally, Conrad opened the door, grabbed the bundle, and threw it in the next room.

  “Thanks,” Vicki said. “Get a couple of beds ready.”

  “What happened to your hand?” Conrad said.

  Vicki waved him off. She closed the door and ran back downstairs. She rolled Melinda over and found she had been stung on the leg. Vicki tried to make her comfortable, then moved to Charlie.

  Charlie scooted back into the shadows when Vicki came close. “Are those things coming after me again?”

  “It’s OK,” Vicki said. “They’re gone now.”

  Charlie looked around the room. He still didn’t have the mark of the believer, but he wasn’t in pain either. “I’m sorry about opening the door,” he said, “honest. I just wanted to see what was happening. Before I knew it the three of them flew in, and I thought they were going to kill us.”

  “You weren’t stung?” Vicki said.

  “They tried,” Charlie said. “Two went after Melinda and one came for me. It was ready to bite when it just stopped. Couldn’t get closer. And it was screaming and stuff was dripping off its teeth.”

  Vicki tried to make sense of it. The baby and Charlie had escaped the locusts without the mark of the true believer. Melinda and Janie hadn’t. And Lenore was clearly a believer now.

  “Help me carry Melinda upstairs,” Vicki said.

  “Sure, if you promise those things won’t bite me.”

  “I think you’re OK,” Vicki said.

  Charlie carried Melinda on his shoulder and put her on a bed near Janie. The two moaned and begged for something to relieve their pain. The strongest medicine Vicki could find was aspirin. The girls gulped them down and tried to sleep, but there was no relief.

  As the day wore on, the locusts thinned out and the kids gathered with Lenore and Tolan. Lenore told her story to Conrad and thanked Vicki and the other girls for praying for her. “I don’t know what I would have done without the three of you.”

  Conrad suggested they write a message to Tsion Ben-Judah and ask why the locusts hadn’t stung Tolan or Charlie. Vicki nodded. “And ask him how long this is going to last.”

  Mark studied Carl. Was this guy leading the GC to them by mistake?

  Carl broke the silence. He told Mark about meeting John Preston and training him aboard the Global Community ship Peacekeeper 1. John had caught on fast and learned most of the equipment in half the time it took most recruits.

  “How did you survive the meteor?” Mark said.

  Carl held up a hand. “Let me finish. Your cousin talked about his friends back in Illinois, but he didn’t tell me anything about the God stuff until the last day.”

  “When the meteor hit?” Mark said.

  Carl nodded. “When he knew we were all sunk, he got me alone and tried to tell me the truth. I wouldn’t listen. So he gave me his spot on the sub.”

  “What? John could have survived?”

  “The captain drew names. He called John’s, but John gave up his seat for me.” Carl sighed. “Now I finally understand why he did it.”

  Mark looked at the ground and took a deep breath. He had tried to imagine what John’s last hours were like.

  “He gave me this as I was getting into the sub,” Carl said, handing Mark John’s Bible.

  Mark opened it and saw John’s handwriting on the inside cover. It included an e-mail address for Mark and John 15:12-13. I hope you discover the truth, Carl. God bless you on your journey. John.

  “I could never figure out what those numbers meant after his name,” Carl said. “Is that some kind of secret code?”

  Mark smiled. “It’s a Bible reference.” He flipped the pages to the New Testament Gospel of John. His voice caught as he read the words to Carl. “This is something Jesus said to his followers. ‘I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.’”

  Carl grabbed a handful of grass and threw it into the wind. He scratched his chin. “That’s what John did. Gave his life for me.”

  They sat in silence. Finally Mark said, “Can you tell me anything else about him?”

  “We kept our sub’s monitor on the ship’s frequency. John must have barricaded himself inside the command center and preached to everybody on deck. It sounded like the captain was really ticked, the way they were pounding on the door. The sub’s skipper made me turn it off. We were all pretty much freakin’ out.”

  “That’s the last you heard from him?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry. If I’d have refused his offer, he’d be here with you right now.”

  Mark shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t. He’d have found somebody else who didn’t know God and given up his seat to them.”

  Carl nodded. “You’re probably right.”

  “What happened in the sub?”

  “We went down as far and as fast as we could go,” Carl said. “We were carrying a few civilians we’d rescued from a drug ship. One guy had seen way too many of those movies where the submarine ruptures and everybody dies. It was all we could do to keep them calm and not use up all the oxygen.

  “The navigator took us as far away from the splashdown site as he could. We heard the impact and braced. It took a couple of minutes for the wave to reach us, but when it did, it just took control. Even as far down as we were, it picked up that sub like a toy and brought us to the surface in seconds.”

  “You could’ve died,” Mark said.

  “A lot did,” Carl said. “All but two of the civilians. Six of us from the Peacekeeper 1 made it out alive. I was in the hospital for a long time. That’s why I didn’t get in touch with you sooner.”

  “Why didn’t we hear anything from the media about this?” Mark said. “It should have been big news.”

  “The GC kept it quiet,” Carl said.

  “Must have been hairy inside that sub.”

  Carl took a breath. “I’ll never forget it. People screaming. Everybody yelling, asking God to save them.”

  “Why’d you wait until now to believe what John told you?”

  “That’s what you’re not going to like,” Carl said. “When I finally woke up in the hospital, a GC security guy was there asking questions. I told him everything. I told him about John, about what he’d said about God—”

  “That was stupid!”

  “I know that now. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  Mark stood. “John saved your life and you wanted to sell us out?”

  “They asked me to get as much information as I could over the Internet,” Carl said. “I didn’t know what to do. They f
igured anybody mixed up with somebody like John had to be another religious fanatic. So I wrote you.”

  “And you led them right to me,” Mark said. “Conrad warned me not to—”

  “That’s not why I’m here!” Carl shouted. “When I was trying to get in touch with you, I started reading some of the stuff John gave me. But I got stuck and I wanted to ask you some questions.”

  “And report to your friends in the GC!”

  “I’m not going to do that. I know the truth now and you helped me see it. But you have to know something else.”

  “What?”

  “The GC is gearing up, getting information on people like you—I mean, like us, all around the country. Around the world.”

  “We’ve known for a long time that the GC doesn’t like followers of Tsion Ben-Judah—”

  “But they’re getting organized,” Carl said. “The GC has names and addresses of people who visit the rabbi’s Web site. They haven’t acted yet, but they’re going to.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Take me to your hideout and teach me everything you can,” Carl said. “I want to learn about God. Then I want to go out and warn those people before it’s too late.”

  3

  JUDD backed out of the plane and walked up the jetway with Lionel. Everyone in the plane had been stung and were wailing and moaning.

  The sight inside the terminal wasn’t much better. Locusts had burrowed through ceiling tiles and attacked people at will. A woman carrying a baby ran screaming. The locusts attacked her but left the baby alone.

  A man stood in the corner holding a bottle of water. When the demons flew at him, he threw the bottle toward them. As water poured onto the floor, it turned bright red.

  “Blood!” Lionel said as the demons hissed even louder and stung the man.

  “We’ve done all we can here,” Judd said. He found a stairwell and led Lionel and Sam outside. Suffering people filled the roadway. Some had their windows rolled down when the locusts attacked. They were slumped behind steering wheels. Others had crashed trying to avoid the beasts and were attacked when they got out.

  Judd tried to flag down a taxi, but even those sitting still wouldn’t open their doors in fear of the locusts.

  “Where are we going?” Sam said.

  “No way we’ll get a flight out,” Judd said. “Let’s head to Jamal’s place.”

  Lionel shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll be too happy—”

  “He’ll be thrilled when I tell him about Africa.” Judd briefly explained how he and Mr. Stein had discovered a remote tribe in the country of Mali. When Mr. Stein had spoken, the village had understood every word. “He stayed to talk to more tribes.”

  “That’s a great story,” Lionel said, “but Jamal was really ticked off after what happened with you and Nada. He seemed pretty glad to get rid of us.”

  “Let’s just head back to Jerusalem and figure it out from there,” Judd said.

  While Judd and Lionel talked, Sam wandered into the traffic. A few moments later he called for them. “This man’s a believer and says he can take us as far as the Old City,” Sam said.

  The three hopped in, and Judd told them more about what happened in Africa. They were surprised at how God had cared for the details of their trip and prepared the hearts of the tribe.

  The driver turned to Judd. “I was here to pick up a friend who is also a believer. His plane was diverted to Tel Aviv, but I’m sure things won’t be any better there.”

  As they neared the Old City of Jerusalem, the driver offered to take them wherever they wanted. “My friend will wait.”

  “Thank you,” Judd said. “We can walk.”

  “God bless you,” the driver said.

  They passed a hospital where hundreds stood outside. Locusts buzzed around them, attacking people on the street and fluttering near doorways and windows, hoping to sting more victims. One man draped a heavy blanket over himself and crawled across the street, but the locusts finally flew inside and stung him.

  Judd realized they were close to the Wailing Wall and motioned Lionel and Sam forward. As they neared the site, Eli and Moishe yelled their message to a small crowd of believers who lay flat on the ground. Unmanned cameras and microphones recorded the event.

  “You rant and rave against God for the terrible plague that has befallen you!” Eli said. “Though you will be the last, you were not the first generation who forced God’s loving hand to act in discipline.

  “Listen to these words from the ancient of days, the Lord God of Israel: I also withheld the rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city; I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered.

  “So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to me.”

  Eli spoke again. “I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens . . . increased, the locust devoured them; yet you have not returned to me. I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; your young men I killed with a sword . . . yet you have not returned to me.”

  Judd moved closer and noticed several people who had been stung by locusts. They moaned and cried softly as the witnesses continued.

  “Forgive me,” one man said. “I didn’t listen and I’m paying the price.”

  Though his pain continued, the man immediately received the mark of the true believer.

  Eli continued. “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel! For behold, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth; the Lord God of hosts is his name.

  “Thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek me and live. . . . Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

  “Though you offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.

  “But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

  Later that day, Vicki called a meeting to read an e-mail message from Tsion Ben-Judah. When the kids were seated, she began.

  “Dear Friends of the Young Tribulation Force,

  “Thank you for telling me of your encounter with the locusts predicted in Revelation 9. As you know, these creatures will not harm grass or plants or trees, but will attack people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

  “As for the baby, Tolan, he is protected by the same love God had for the infants taken in the Rapture. God would not allow these beasts to plague a little child like this. His love and mercy continue, even in these dark times.

  “I rejoice that because of your prayers, Lenore has been spared and has actually believed in the message of the gospel. This is the first time I have heard the locusts were hindered by the prayers of believers. I pray Lenore will learn much of God’s word through you.”

  Vicki paused and looked at Charlie. He sat on the edge of his seat, tapping his foot.

  “Does it say somethin’ about me?” Charlie said. Vicki nodded.

  “Keep praying for Charlie. I don’t know why the locusts didn’t attack him, but we have to believe that God’s love is at work in his life just as it is in Tolan’s.”

  Charlie smiled.

  “Scripture indicates the locusts will seek out victims for the next five months. From my reading, I believe the effects of the sting will last five months as well. Therefore, unbelievers will be secluded or suffering for many months.

  “This is a great opportunity for us. I believe we must use this time to move about and network with other believers for the terrible time that is to come in the future.

  “I continue to receive incredible response to my Web site. Many
teenagers have written with questions, and I am unable to respond personally to them. Judd told me of his trip to Israel, and I know he cannot answer as many as he would like. Would any of you be able to respond to these questions?

  “Thank you for your service to the King of kings and Lord of lords. May God bless you as you tell others about his love.

  “Sincerely in the love of Christ,

  “Tsion Ben-Judah.”

  Conrad held up a hand. “Why can’t we have a Web site? We could post the most-asked questions and the answers and call it theunderground-online.com.

  “We could have a link to Dr. Ben-Judah’s Web site,” Darrion said.

  Vicki said, “Wouldn’t that put us in more danger from the Global Community? Supreme What’s-His-Face says anybody who visits the Ben-Judah Web site will be fined and imprisoned.”

  Conrad laughed. “If that’s true, they’re going to have to build a lot more prisons. I think he’s just trying to scare people.”

  “A lot of kids are asking questions,” Shelly said. “We could reach millions this way.”

  Vicki weighed the risks. It seemed like God was giving them more opportunities every day, even from this remote place.

  “OK,” Vicki said, “start working on it. But I want to talk about it with Mark when he gets back.”

  Lenore approached Vicki after the meeting and said she was excited to start learning more about the Bible. “I want to do anything I can for you kids. Cook. Clean. I can even give some medical help if you need it.”

  “Medical?” Vicki said.

  “I was studying to be a nurse just before I got married,” Lenore said. “I was a little more than a year away from graduation when Tolan was born.”

  Vicki unrolled the bandage from her hand. She winced when Lenore held her hand.

  “It doesn’t look broken, but you’ve got a bad bruise there. Better get something cold on it fast.”

  Vicki nodded and led Lenore upstairs to see what she could do for Janie and Melinda.