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  “When I tell them you guys are here—”

  “You won’t have a chance,” Vicki said. She drew close to Melinda and knelt. “They’ll shoot you on sight.”

  “Then I’ll hide.”

  “Sooner or later they’ll catch you,” Vicki said.

  Phoenix ambled over to Melinda and swished his tail back and forth. Soon he put his head on Melinda’s lap. She didn’t even seem to notice.

  Vicki turned the gun over in her hands. “If you stayed, we’d offer you protection and food. They wouldn’t find you.”

  “In return for …”

  “Everybody pitches in,” Vicki said. “Plus, you’d attend our studies.”

  “I’m not going to believe like you guys,” Melinda said. “Ever.”

  “Maybe not,” Vicki said. “But you have to admit, it’s a better deal than Commander Blancka got.”

  Phoenix nuzzled Melinda’s hand. The girl drew back. Phoenix licked the girl’s arm, and she put her hand back on Phoenix’s head.

  Vicki handed the gun to Melinda and stood. “This is yours.” She paused in the doorway. “The guys will dig Felicia’s grave at sunup. We’ll have the funeral in the afternoon. We’d like you to be there.”

  Melinda took the gun. “What if I take off tonight?”

  That would change everything. Their lives would be thrown into turmoil. Vicki’s plans for the old schoolhouse would be wrecked.

  “Your choice,” Vicki said. “If you have to, you have to.”

  Vicki closed the door, then opened it a crack. “If you go, take blankets with you. It’s going to be nippy tonight.”

  Vicki put food and blankets by Melinda’s door and went to bed, listening for any sign of Melinda leaving. At midnight she opened her door and saw the food still in the hallway, but the blankets were gone.

  “Please, God,” Vicki said, “convince her to stay.”

  Vicki wrestled with leaving. Could God have brought them here only to have them abandon the place? Was the dream of training kids just that—a dream?

  The next morning Vicki found Judd and Mr. Stein in the kitchen.

  “I see our guest is still here,” Judd said.

  “How do you know?” Vicki said.

  “Looked in her window,” Judd said. He returned Vicki’s icy stare. “We have a right to know if she’s gone or not, don’t we?”

  “Don’t blow this for me, Judd.”

  Mr. Stein said, “That girl has been through so much. I only hope we can get through to her before something happens to her.”

  Mr. Stein used Judd’s laptop to log on to Tsion Ben-Judah’s Web site. Judd and Vicki ate in silence.

  “The rabbi writes about the Meeting of the Witnesses,” Mr. Stein said.

  “Still scheduled for next week?” Vicki said.

  “Yes. And thousands of house churches have begun— run by Jews who have become believers in Jesus as Messiah.”

  “House churches,” Vicki said. “I like that. This is going to be a house church for the Young Tribulation Force.”

  “It’s going to be more than that,” Judd said. “Z is going to run supplies through here and help feed people who won’t obey Carpathia.”

  “What else does it say?” Vicki said.

  “The house churches base their teachings on Tsion Ben-Judah’s daily messages over the Internet,” Mr. Stein said. “Though the Global Community urges everyone to join the Enigma Babylon One World Faith, tens of thousands of such churches meet every day.

  “Tsion urges congregations to send their leaders to the great meeting, in spite of warnings from the GC. Nicolae Carpathia has tried again and again to cancel it.”

  Mr. Stein scrolled through the message excitedly. “Oh, listen to this! Dr. Ben-Judah writes, ‘We will be in Jerusalem as scheduled, with or without your approval, permission, or promised protection. The glory of the Lord will be our rear guard.’”

  “He called Carpathia’s bluff,” Judd said.

  “We must get the generator started,” Mr. Stein said. “I want to be able to keep your computer going twenty-four hours a day while the meetings are taking place.”

  Conrad burst into the kitchen, out of breath. “Judd, come with me.”

  Judd followed Conrad around to the front and down the hill. Shelly stood holding a dirty shovel beside a deep hole. Mark pecked at a rock in the bottom. Conrad pointed. “We were digging the grave and we hit that. Then we found another rock the same size, and another, and now there’s a whole section of them, along with big beams of wood.”

  “Looks like a tomb,” Judd said. “Have you seen what’s inside?”

  “It’s like they’re cemented together,” Mark said.

  “Cover it over and we’ll dig the grave farther up the hill,” Judd said.

  “What?” Mark said. “We’re almost—”

  “Melinda is still inside,” Judd said.

  “What’s that got to do with—”

  “This may turn out to be nothing,” Judd interrupted. “Then again, it might be something we don’t want her to see. We’ll dig again after the funeral.”

  Vicki was glad when Melinda joined them at the kitchen table later that morning. Melinda eyed Mr. Stein and pushed back a plate of food. “If you guys hadn’t gotten away, the commander would still be alive. Felicia too.”

  “They were going to execute me,” Mr. Stein said. “We had to do something.”

  Lionel made a wooden stretcher and placed Felicia’s body on it. Melinda walked beside Vicki as they followed the procession up the hill to the burial site.

  Conrad and Judd gently placed the wrapped body in the hole. Vicki put a hand on Melinda’s shoulder as the group awkwardly looked at one another.

  Finally, Lionel spoke. “I didn’t know Felicia well, but I do know how dedicated she was as a Morale Monitor. She would have made a great member of the Young Trib Force.”

  Mr. Stein shifted from one foot to another. “I lost my only daughter in the earthquake.” He turned to Melinda. “I am deeply saddened for your loss.”

  “It should’ve been me,” Melinda said. “If I’d have taken the first drink, you’d be burying me.”

  “You’re here for a reason,” Vicki said.

  Melinda backed away. “I know why you’re being so nice. You want me to keep quiet about this place. But that would betray what Felicia and I were trying to do in the first place.”

  Judd’s cell phone rang.

  “I won’t stay here,” Melinda continued. “And you can’t make me.”

  Judd handed the phone to Mr. Stein as Melinda raced toward the schoolhouse. “Taylor Graham,” Judd said. “He got the number from Boyd at the gas station. Said it was urgent.”

  As Conrad and Lionel shoveled dirt into the grave, Judd approached Vicki. “Sorry about Melinda. Guess we’re going to have to move.”

  “I thought I was getting through to her,” Vicki said.

  “Maybe you were,” Judd said. “People have to make their own choices.”

  Mr. Stein snapped the phone shut, his face ashen. “It is a miracle,” he said. “A true miracle of God. I am going to Israel. I am going to the Meeting of the Witnesses.”

  3

  JUDD couldn’t believe it. Mr. Stein going to Israel?

  “Taylor has access to a plane,” Mr. Stein said. “He said there is an airfield near us.”

  “You know where he got that plane,” Judd said. “It’s GC property.”

  “I thought Taylor didn’t want anything to do with us,” Vicki said.

  “He knows I have money,” Mr. Stein said. “He said he wants to keep his promise. I think he needs cash.”

  “Wait,” Judd said. “If he’s going after Carpathia, why is he going to Israel? Nick’s not there.”

  Mr. Stein shrugged. “Perhaps he will continue to New Babylon.”

  Judd sighed. “Something’s not right. It may be a GC trap.”

  “You know Taylor would never let the GC take him alive,” Vicki said. “I’m happy for Mr
. Stein.”

  “Does sound weird,” Lionel said. “And the GC will be looking for that plane.”

  “I’m leaving that to Taylor,” Mr. Stein said. “I need to contact a guide to help me in Israel. I’ve never been there.”

  Judd’s mind swirled. “I’ve been twice. I could help you.”

  “I had dibs on the next trip,” Lionel said. “Besides, we’re needed here. If we have to move everybody to—”

  “We’re not moving,” Vicki said. “Even if Melinda leaves, this is where we’re supposed to be.”

  “Vick—,” Judd said.

  “Trust me on this,” Vicki interrupted. “God gave us this school for a reason. We’re not running.”

  “Vick, Melinda could lead them right to you,” Judd said.

  “We stand or fall here,” Vicki said. “Take Lionel and go—if it’s okay with you, Mr. Stein.”

  “Yes, I would love the company,” Mr. Stein said.

  “Then it’s settled,” Vicki said.

  Vicki found Melinda gathering supplies at the schoolhouse.

  “Before you go, I want you to have something,” Vicki said. She handed some bullets and Felicia’s gun to her.

  “Why are you giving me these?” Melinda said.

  “In case you meet up with the GC. I don’t think you’ll use them against us.”

  Melinda rolled the bullets in her hand and sat. “How’d you guys change your looks? I almost didn’t recognize you.”

  Vicki explained, without telling about Z. “We have new IDs and everything. Hopefully it’ll protect us from the GC.”

  Melinda sighed heavily. “The Global Community promised a better life. Conrad and Lionel don’t know.”

  “Know what?”

  “Where I came from. What I’ve seen.”

  “Tell me,” Vicki said. She sat and stared at Melinda.

  Finally, the girl spoke. “I grew up in the East. My dad sold insurance and we moved around a lot. Pittsburgh. Buffalo. Richmond. It was almost like being in the military. You make some friends, and it’s time to move again.”

  “That’s tough,” Vicki said.

  “Yeah, but not as tough as it got after the disappearances. That whole thing tanked my dad’s business. Things got rough at home. He drank a lot and screamed at me. I’d take off for a few days, then come back.”

  “What about your mom?”

  Melinda shook her head.

  “How’d you meet Felicia?” Vicki said.

  “School. Her family life wasn’t any better. We’d sit at lunch and plan our escape. She had an uncle who invited us. Even mailed us some money. One Monday morning we got on a bus and headed north. Thought our problems were solved.” Melinda closed her eyes. “That was the worst week of my life, until now.”

  “What happened?” Vicki said.

  “I can’t tell you everything,” Melinda said. “It’s too awful. The guy was a creep. He sold drugs. He basically locked us up.”

  “That’s terrible,” Vicki said.

  “Only thing we could do was watch TV. That’s when we saw Nicolae Carpathia. Everything he did—peace treaties, an end to war—that’s what we were looking for. Sounded like heaven on earth. Felicia and I decided to get out of there and sign up.”

  “You escaped?” Vicki said.

  “We tricked a guy into letting us out. Told him we’d show him where Felicia’s uncle hid his stash.”

  “Cool,” Vicki said.

  “We found a GC post and heard about the Morale Monitors. Felicia and I signed up, and they sent us into training.”

  “That’s where you met Conrad and Lionel,” Vicki said.

  Melinda nodded. “Our first job was Chicago.”

  “You thought the Morale Monitors would be the answer.”

  Melinda slumped in her chair. “I don’t know what went wrong. I blamed it on Lionel and Conrad at first. I couldn’t believe they’d work against us. Then Commander Blancka … it doesn’t make sense.”

  Vicki didn’t want to come on too strong, but she knew Melinda needed to hear the truth. “Can I give you my theory?” she said.

  Melinda rubbed her forehead. “I think I know what’s coming, but go ahead.”

  “I met this journalist,” Vicki said, “a guy who’s a lot smarter than me, and he investigated Carpathia and the whole Global Community plan. Melinda, their goal is not world peace. Carpathia and his people want control.”

  “I don’t mind people being in control if they want peace for everybody.”

  “They don’t,” Vicki said. “They want to run the world, and if anyone gets in their way or messes up … well, look at what happened to Commander Blancka.”

  “Pretty hard to believe,” Melinda said.

  “Everything I’m telling you was predicted in the Bible. The disappearances, the earthquake, the peace treaty with Israel, the comets—everything. I can show you.”

  “Religion’s not my thing,” Melinda said.

  “Mine either,” Vicki said, “but this is not religion. This is the truth. Stay. I’ll explain it all. What do you have to lose?”

  “You really think the GC will do the same to me as they did to the commander?”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to chance it,” Vicki said.

  Melinda rolled the gun over and looked at Vicki. “All right. But the minute I find out you’re hiding something or lying to me, I’m out of here.”

  “Deal,” Vicki said.

  Judd talked with Taylor Graham by phone and explained that he and Lionel would accompany Mr. Stein.

  “I only agreed to take one,” Taylor said.

  Judd handed the phone to Mr. Stein.

  “How many seats are there on that plane?” Stein said. “Six? Good, then we will have three extras for anyone else that might—”

  Mr. Stein held the phone away from his ear. Taylor Graham yelled something.

  “It’s my money,” Mr. Stein said. “If they don’t come, I stay.”

  After a few moments, Mr. Stein handed the phone back to Judd.

  “All right, listen,” Taylor Graham said. “There’s a landing strip in a ritzy development about ten miles from you.”

  “The earthquake didn’t destroy—?”

  “These people have more money than Carpathia himself,” Taylor said. “The strip’s been repaired. The problem is tight security. There’s a guard 24-7 and a fence all the way around. I need you to turn on the landing lights. I’ll wait two minutes at the end of the runway. If you’re not there, I’m gone.”

  “Why don’t we just come to you?” Judd said.

  Taylor laughed. “It’d take too much time.”

  “Isn’t there anywhere else you could land?” Judd said.

  “I’ve scoped it out,” Taylor said. “This is the way it goes down. If you can’t make this happen, forget it.”

  “We’ll be there,” Judd said.

  Taylor gave Judd the exact location and the time he would arrive.

  “We’ll need to leave soon if we’re going to make it,” Judd said when he hung up.

  Suddenly there was an explosion, and a grinding sound came from the other end of the house. Judd and Mr. Stein rushed through billowy black smoke and found Lionel high-fiving Conrad.

  Conrad stood by the generator, covered with grease. “We did it!”

  Judd inspected the machine. “As long as you can find gas, this should give you power.”

  “We found three underground gas tanks,” Conrad said. “Must be Z’s work.”

  “Get cleaned up,” Judd said to Lionel. “We’re heading out.” Judd took Vicki aside. “Is Melinda gone?”

  “She’s staying for now.”

  “Good,” Judd said. “I’ll leave my laptop so you guys can watch the coverage of the meetings. Don’t let her know about Taylor or where we’re going.”

  Vicki nodded. “I know. Give us an update when you can.”

  “You can take two of the cycles and ditch them,” Conrad said. “They’re just sitting here.�
��

  Judd sensed something was wrong with Conrad. “Did you want to go with us?”

  Conrad shook his head. “It’s my brother. Talk some sense into Taylor if you can. He’s going to get himself killed.”

  Judd patted Conrad on the shoulder as Darrion slipped an envelope into Judd’s hand. “Give Taylor this. Maybe it will help.”

  Mr. Stein showed Vicki where he had hidden the rest of his money. “Use as much of it as you need.”

  Judd and Lionel pushed the cycles to the road and started them. Traveling after dark was difficult. Judd wasn’t familiar with the roads. Finally, he spotted the well-lit water tower Taylor had described.

  “It’s only a couple of miles from here,” Judd said to Mr. Stein sitting behind him.

  When they came within a few hundred yards of the gated community, Judd and Lionel turned off their cycles and hid them in some tall grass. They walked the rest of the way.

  Mr. Stein huffed and puffed as he carried the heavy duffel bag filled with cash. “How much longer?”

  “We’ve got about an hour to figure out how to get inside,” Judd said.

  “Are there security guards all around?” Lionel said.

  “Only one,” Judd said, “but I’m sure they have cameras and sensors around the fence. We have to time this just right.”

  Mr. Stein wiped his brow. “I don’t know if I can handle this much excitement.”

  Judd spotted a delivery truck. “Wait here.”

  Judd ran through a field and darted to the other side of the road as the delivery truck stopped by the guardhouse. Judd saw a camera above him and stayed in the shadows.

  “Okay, we got one package for Kendall, number 418, and another one for Miller,” the man in the truck said.

  “Miller again?” the guard said. “Busy place.”

  The guard signed for the packages and the driver left. Judd checked his watch. Only forty-five minutes before Taylor touched down.

  “What did you see?” Lionel asked when Judd returned.

  “It’s tight. They don’t even let delivery guys inside. But I have an idea.”

  Judd took some cash and told Mr. Stein and Lionel to stay on the south side of the fence. “When you hear Taylor’s plane, climb over and meet me at the end of the airstrip.”