Shaken Read online

  She wanted to survive all seven years and see the Glorious Appearing of Christ and his victory over evil. But how? In time, the Global Community would force people to identify with Nicolae or face the consequences. That was something she simply would not do. Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah believed only one-fourth of the population alive after the Rapture would survive until the end. Would Vicki be among them? And what of her friends? What about Judd?

  Vicki prayed for Jeff Williams and his father. She prayed for each group she had met over the past few weeks and asked God to continue raising up house churches around the country. She felt exhausted but kept praying and pleading with God for believers she knew. She thought of Chloe Williams and her new baby. How difficult it must be bringing up a child in a world like this. Chloe had a lot of work to do with the commodity co-op. Now she would need to care for little Kenny. Vicki prayed that Chloe would have new strength each day.

  Vicki pulled out a flashlight and a printout the pastor in Arizona had handed her before they left. It was the latest copy of The Truth, a cyberspace magazine. The articles were written anonymously, but the kids had heard this was Buck Williams’s new writing project. Buck told the truth about Nicolae Carpathia and the Global Community. The latest edition gave more information about the so-called satellite schools.

  The article included photos of locations ready for students. “These schools will not teach reading, writing, and arithmetic,” Buck wrote. “Instead, they will soak young people with Global Community propaganda. We can only hope the next generation will see through the smoke and mirrors and find the truth found in the Bible.”

  Buck sure wouldn’t have been able to write that in Global Community Weekly, Vicki thought.

  The next few pages were printed from www.theunderground-online.com. Mark had posted Tsion Ben-Judah’s latest Internet offering.

  My text is from Revelation 9:15-21. “And the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. They led an army of 200 million mounted troops—I heard an announcement of how many there were.

  “And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and sky blue and yellow. The horses’ heads were like the heads of lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths. One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and the smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses. Their power was in their mouths, but also in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.

  “But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to turn from their evil deeds. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their immorality or their thefts.”

  Vicki shivered as she read. She pictured the frightening beasts and riders and the millions who would die.

  This passage has puzzled me for some time. For centuries scholars have looked at prophecy as symbolic. These symbols have been explained in different ways by different people. But why would God make it so difficult? I believe when the Scriptures say the writer saw something in a vision, it is symbolic of something else. But when the writer simply says that certain things happen, I take those literally. So far I have been proven right. This passage says John sees 200 million horsemen in a vision. I doubt these men and animals will be flesh and bone since John mentions a vision, but they will have a terrible impact on the world. They will indeed kill a third of the population. Friends, I don’t know how this will happen or even how long it will take. God could make it occur in an instant. It appears to me that it will take several weeks. I ask you to read the account in Revelation and ask God to make it clear to you.

  Vicki folded the pages and stuffed them in her pocket. She rubbed her eyes and asked Shelly and Conrad if they needed anything.

  “Rest,” Conrad said.

  Vicki awoke in what seemed like a few minutes. She looked at the clock on the dashboard and saw that she had been asleep four hours. Conrad glanced in the rearview mirror.

  “Are they still back there?” Shelly said.

  “Yeah,” Conrad said.

  Vicki sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  “Somebody’s following us,” Conrad said.

  Vicki turned but didn’t see any cars. In the moonlight she spotted a mountain range and a butte in the distance. “Where are we?”

  “South of Denver,” Shelly said. “Mark showed us a highway that should take us straight to Illinois, but—”

  Conrad whipped the van to the left as a car parked alongside the road suddenly pulled out in front of them. Shelly screamed and hit her head against the side window. Conrad veered inches from the car and struggled to regain control. He nearly went off the side of the road but managed to get the van back on the pavement.

  “They must be working together,” Conrad said.

  Vicki glanced behind them and saw two sets of headlights. “They’re gaining on us.”

  “Is it the GC?” Shelly said, putting a hand over a knot on her head.

  “It might be worse,” Conrad said.

  Judd and the others considered several plans to help Nada and her family. Judd wanted to create some kind of diversion outside of headquarters. Sam suggested they slip sleeping pills into the station’s coffeepot.

  Finally, Mr. Stein said he was going to bed. “I think we should all pray about what we’re going to do.”

  Judd shook his head as Mr. Stein left. “How can we sit here and pray when we know they’re in trouble?”

  Sam put his arms behind his head and stretched.

  “I understand how you feel. You want to get in there and get them out.”

  “If we don’t, they’re toast.”

  “If we don’t come up with something soon, I’ll go to my father.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  Sam sighed. “Part of me wants to run in there with pepper spray and disable the guards. But I still hold out hope that my father will believe. I don’t want him to think we’re some kind of radical military group. I want him to see Christ in what we do.”

  The morning sun was coming up as they each fell asleep. Mr. Stein awakened them. “It’s time.”

  “Time for what?” Judd said.

  “God has spoken. He revealed that we should go to the station quickly.”

  “What are we going to do?” Sam said.

  “Get dressed. We must go.”

  Vicki watched the two sets of headlights rapidly approach. One set was an old truck. The other was a smaller sports car. “Can’t you go faster?”

  “There’s no way we’re going to outrun them!” Shelly screamed.

  “We’re going uphill,” Conrad said. “I’m going to try something.”

  Conrad jerked the wheel to the right, and the van ran into a ditch and up the side of a gully. Even though she was buckled in, Vicki’s head hit the ceiling. Finally, the van reached a dirt riding path that ran parallel to the road.

  Vicki glanced behind them. The truck was a few hundred yards behind. The sports car was still on the main road.

  “I’m going to try something else,” Conrad said. He turned off the headlights, plunging them into darkness. Vicki could barely see the lights of the truck through the dust they had kicked up. The sports car slowed and pulled to the side of the road.

  “Maybe they’ll think we went off a cliff or something,” Conrad said. “Hang on!”

  He jerked the van to the right and drove straight through a wooden fence and onto another road. They found an overpass and headed west. Conrad drove wildly across an open field. He slowed as they hit a winding stretch of road. He turned his headlights on for an instant to get his bearings. They crossed railroad tracks and turned into a gravel parking lot. Vicki spotted old playground equipment and a lake. Conrad drove onto a
jogging path and parked the van behind an abandoned picnic shelter.

  The three got out and kept watch. A few minutes later the sports car flew over the railroad tracks and wound its way around the lake. The truck followed moments later.

  “You think we’re safe?” Vicki said.

  Conrad turned. “Let’s get back to the main—” He stopped mid-sentence and grabbed Shelly by the shoulders. Shelly stared straight ahead, shaking.

  “What’s wrong, Shel?” Vicki said.

  Shelly dropped to her knees and gasped for air. She pointed toward the lake.

  Vicki and Conrad looked but didn’t see anything. The cars were out of sight now.

  “They’re gone,” Conrad said. “Don’t worry.”

  Shelly trembled, as if she had just walked out of a freezer. She rubbed her arms and shook. Vicki knelt beside her and looked into Shelly’s eyes. Total fear.

  “I think she’s going into shock,” Vicki said.

  “Get her in the car and let’s get out of here.”

  Judd followed Mr. Stein, Sam, and Lionel through the narrow streets that led to the GC headquarters. Judd asked several times what they were going to do, but Mr. Stein merely shrugged.

  When they neared GC headquarters, Mr. Stein took them to a small café across the street. The four sat, and Mr. Stein ordered each of them something to drink. When the waiter left, Mr. Stein scratched his beard. “I have felt such a strong urge to be here, but I don’t know why.”

  “This happened a lot on your trip, didn’t it?” Lionel said.

  Mr. Stein smiled. “There were many times when I didn’t know my next move, but I simply trusted God. This feels the same. I know God wants me to speak about him, but I have no idea how this could gain the release of your friends.”

  The kids studied the headquarters building. Sam said, “We don’t even know if they’re still—”

  Sam stopped as the front door to headquarters opened. Deputy Commander Woodruff and Sam’s father stepped outside. Woodruff was yelling at Mr. Goldberg.

  Mr. Stein turned. “I believe this is it. I have to go.”

  Judd stood, but Mr. Stein held up a hand. “Please. I have to go alone.”

  Vicki held Shelly in the backseat as Conrad drove back to the main road. Shelly shook violently, and Vicki couldn’t calm her.

  “I think we’re okay now,” Conrad said. “We’re leaving those guys behind.”

  “Good,” Vicki said. She pushed Shelly’s hair from her face. “See, you don’t have to worry about those guys.”

  “I-I-I’m not,” Shelly managed. “Th-th-that’s not what scared me.”

  “Then what on earth did?”

  “Not what on earth, but what was above it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You didn’t see them? They were hovering over the water by the mountain. It was the most awful thing I’ve ever seen.” Shelly put her face in her hands.

  Vicki glanced at Conrad in the rearview mirror. He shrugged. Vicki turned to Shelly. “What scared you?”

  Shelly swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “Horses. Huge horses that looked like lions.”

  3

  VICKI leaned close to Shelly. “Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep and dream about it?”

  “They were there, I swear. Just as real as you and me.”

  “We believe you,” Conrad said. “We just didn’t see anything.”

  “You said they were above the ground?” Vicki said.

  Shelly nodded. “It was like they were walking on air. And they were huge.”

  Vicki felt confused. Tsion had written that the horses would be some kind of angelic beings, unseen to the human eye. If Shelly had seen them, they were real and the next judgment was about to begin.

  Conrad hit the accelerator. Vicki turned and saw the same car and truck. “These guys don’t give up.”

  The truck pulled along their right side, and the car raced on their left. The driver of the truck wore a hat and had a stubbly beard. He pointed and yelled.

  “Whatever you do, don’t stop!” Vicki said.

  A woman rode in the passenger seat of the sports car.

  She rolled down her window and yelled, “Pull over!” When Conrad didn’t obey, she turned to the driver.

  “She’s got a shotgun!” Shelly screamed.

  Conrad swerved into the truck, but it was too late. The gunshot blew out the left front tire and sent the van reeling. Vicki and Shelly screamed as Conrad fought to keep control. He slammed on the brakes, and both vehicles shot past them. The van skidded into a ditch and toppled over.

  Vicki unbuckled first and checked Conrad and Shelly. Shelly was bruised but okay. Conrad lay slumped over the steering wheel, his air bag deployed.

  “Are you okay?” Vicki said.

  Conrad grabbed his neck and put his head back. “I think so. But I can’t say the same for the van. We’re stuck.”

  “Look!” Shelly shouted.

  The car and truck were turning. Shelly tried to open the side door, but it was stuck. Conrad pulled himself free and pushed the front passenger door open. The three crawled out and hit the ground just as the truck skidded to a stop in front of them.

  Judd prayed as he watched Mr. Stein walk toward the Jerusalem Global Community headquarters. The man seemed fearless.

  Sam stared at his father and stood. Lionel and Judd grabbed him and pulled him into his chair.

  “We don’t need anybody else getting arrested,” Lionel said.

  Mr. Stein walked into the street, his face turned toward the steps of the station. A car passed him and honked, but Mr. Stein continued, staring at the deputy commander and Sam’s father. Mr. Stein stopped in the middle of the street and raised his voice. “You who walk in darkness, behold, you will see a great light—a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow.”

  Deputy Commander Woodruff and Mr. Goldberg turned and glared.

  “This is what the Lord Almighty says,” Mr. Stein continued. “ ‘Every word that was written, every promise given, will be fulfilled.’”

  Deputy Commander Woodruff walked down a few steps and yelled back, “And this is what I say; you are under the arrest of the Global Community!”

  Judd looked at Lionel. “What’s he doing?”

  Lionel shrugged. “Looks like he wants them to take him away.”

  Mr. Stein stood his ground as GC officers walked outside to see what was going on. The deputy commander pointed and ordered them to arrest Mr. Stein.

  “The captives will be released and the prisoners will be freed!” Mr. Stein shouted.

  “And you will be behind bars where you belong, you stupid fool,” Woodruff said. “No more of your lies after today.”

  The officers reached the bottom of the steps and moved into the street. Sam shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  Suddenly, officers coughed and gasped for air. One pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and put it over his face. The two near Mr. Stein fell to their knees, sputtering and panting.

  “What’s that smell?” the deputy commander said. Everyone in front of the GC station coughed and waved their arms.

  The waiter at the restaurant ran inside. “Sulfur! It’s sulfur!” He closed the door behind him and collapsed in a heap.

  A woman ran by them on the sidewalk shouting, “We’re going to die! It’s poison!”

  “I don’t smell anything,” Sam said.

  Then Judd saw them. The huge beasts rode over a building in front of them. Judd pointed. Lionel and Sam couldn’t speak.

  The horses approached the street where Mr. Stein stood. They hovered as if walking on air. These were not ordinary sized horses. These were monsters. Judd had seen Clydesdales close up, but these were enormous, at least twice the size of any he had ever seen.

  Lionel gasped. “Look at their faces!”

  Judd couldn’t keep his eyes off them. Their heads looked like lions with flowing manes and huge teeth. Flames and thic
k yellow smoke shot out of their mouths and nostrils, but Judd didn’t hear anything. No hoofbeats or snorting or any sound.

  The horses were so frightening, Judd almost didn’t notice the riders. They were every bit as large as the animals. They looked human, but each one was at least ten feet tall and five hundred pounds. Every horseman wore a shimmering breastplate. Their biceps and forearms rippled with muscles as they worked to control the enormous horses. Judd thought they might stampede at any moment.

  Judd jumped out of his chair. “Come on!”

  “I’m not going out there,” Sam said.

  “These have to be the horses from Revelation 9. Tsion teaches that they won’t hurt believers.”

  “How can we be sure? They look pretty mean.”

  Judd raced into the street. Lionel and Sam followed. Mr. Stein put up a hand as the three came near. One of the horses was only a few yards away. It turned and for the first time they saw the tail.

  “Sick!” Lionel said.

  Instead of hair, a snake’s head writhed on the end of the tail. It bared its fangs and looked at the kids.

  “So this is why you came out here,” Judd said to Mr. Stein. “You knew this was going to happen.”

  “I had no idea,” Mr. Stein said. “I felt God wanted me to speak and I did. Follow me.”

  “We can walk right through the horses?” Judd said.

  “These are not physical beings. Their effect is real. They will cause the deaths of many, but we have no reason to fear them.”

  Sirens wailed throughout the city as Judd and the others walked up the steps. The deputy commander lay on the steps, clutching his throat. As Judd passed, Woodruff reached out and grabbed his leg. Judd quickly jerked away. The man summoned his strength and stood, finally recognizing Judd. He reached for the radio on his shoulder and clicked the button.