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  Yours in Christ,

  Tsion Ben-Judah

  As Kruno Fulcire finished his press conference, a wave of hope washed over Vicki like a waterfall. Judd was in God’s hands. Their possible marriage was too. And all believers from Wisconsin to the remote parts of the world. No matter how much money the Global Community offered or how creative the GC could get trying to catch unmarked civilians, the believers still had God’s protection.

  Judd watched the screens carefully for any sign of Rainer and Klaus. He hoped they would come to their senses and turn around, but Judd gasped when a manhole cover moved in the middle of the street a block away. Weapons plopped on the ground, and Rainer and Klaus crawled onto the street.

  Helga gritted her teeth. “What in the world are they doing?”

  A man to Judd’s left shook his head. “Rainer likes to say, ‘Life is a temporary assignment.’ ”

  “He’s going to make it a lot more temporary if he doesn’t get out of there quickly,” Helga said.

  Rainer and Klaus moved behind a burned-out car. Automatic weapons fire sounded, and the two were up and running. The GC squad, at least a dozen officers strong, rounded the corner. Rainer fired over their heads.

  “He could have killed several of them,” Judd said. “Why didn’t he?”

  “Maybe he’s not trying to kill them,” Westin said. “Maybe he’s trying to get them away from us.”

  Helga quickly switched to another camera showing that the area around the safe house was clear. She pointed to Judd and Westin and looked at the older man to her left. “Take them to number two.”

  “We’re not leaving,” Westin said. “We’ll stay and fight with the rest of you.”

  She looked hard at him. “I’m not arguing. You’re the only pilot here and this guy—” she pointed to Judd— “has a fiancée waiting. Go.”

  The older man led them to the secret exit, and they climbed into a large tunnel. The man stuck out his hand. “Gunther Carr.”

  They walked west, away from the house, through stagnant water. Gunfire erupted again above them, and GC officers’ yells echoed in the cavern.

  “What’s number two?” Judd whispered.

  “An underground bunker,” Gunther said. “It’s dark and stinks down there, but at least you’ll be safe.”

  More gunfire. Judd prayed for Rainer and Klaus. He had no idea if he would ever see them again.

  4

  JUDD and Westin spent the night alone in the underground chamber. They were anxious to know what had happened to their friends but didn’t dare go into the tunnel. The maze of pipes leading from their area made it nearly impossible to go back without someone leading them.

  “What happens if the GC find the house and everybody’s killed?” Judd said.

  Westin shrugged and paced the room like a nervous animal. Gunther had shown them where to find food and flashlights, but they felt trapped with no contact with the outside world. Judd’s phone didn’t work in the enclosed space, and there was no computer hookup. Westin found a small television stashed in a cabinet, but it didn’t work.

  “Great, we can’t even hear the GC’s lies,” Westin said.

  After spending the evening praying for their new friends, Judd tried to get some sleep. Finally he sat up. Westin was reading something by the fading glow of a flashlight. “What do you think about our chances of getting out of New Babylon alive?”

  Westin yawned. “We improved our chances by coming in here, but I don’t like the fact that we let those people fight for us.”

  “What are you reading?”

  Westin held up a weathered New Testament and Psalms he had discovered. “I found this psalm about how God heals the brokenhearted, counts the stars, supports the humble, and feeds the animals. Then I came to this:

  “The strength of a horse does not impress him; how puny in his sight is the strength of a man. Rather, the Lord’s delight is in those who honor him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

  “That’s good,” Judd said.

  Westin ran a hand through his hair. “You know, when I believed what you and Lionel told me, there was part of me that thought I was pretty hot stuff. Being a pilot for the rich and famous, able to get you guys access wherever I wanted … Even when I started working with the Tribulation Force, I sort of felt like I was doing God a favor.”

  Judd smiled. “I know what you mean.”

  “And then I read a passage like this. If I really want to make God happy, I’ll just trust him and let him use me however he wants. If it means I’m flying supplies, that’s great. If it means I’m holed up in this dark, stinky septic tank, that’s okay.”

  Judd nodded. “The biggest hurdle is believing God is real. Then you have to believe he really loves you and died to forgive you. Once I got that through my head, it was a lot easier to trust him, though it’s not always easy.”

  It was after midnight when Judd heard footsteps echo in the tunnel. The door opened and Gunther entered with the rest of the group. One by one they crowded inside, some collapsing on the floor. Rainer and Klaus weren’t with them.

  “We need to stay here for a while,” Gunther said. “The Peacekeepers are back, but we’re hoping they won’t find our hideout.”

  “What about Rainer and Klaus?” Westin said.

  “They’re dead.”

  “But not before they took a half dozen GC with them,” a younger man said.

  “What happened?” Judd said.

  “Rainer and Klaus tried to get the GC to chase them away from the safe house,” Gunther said. “It worked for a while, but then the GC surrounded them. After a firefight, the GC won.”

  “We’re kicking ourselves for not going to their rescue,” Helga said. “We should have at least used the remote guns.”

  “You know that wouldn’t have done any good,” Gunther said.

  Judd thought of Rainer’s wife. They were together now, reunited in heaven.

  “Why didn’t you set off the booby traps?” Westin said. Helga sat forward and took some beef jerky from a tin. “We left the entrance on automatic. If the GC find it and crawl inside, the whole place will go up. All the evidence will be destroyed.”

  Vicki waited for word from Judd and agonized when she didn’t hear anything. She spent the entire night waiting by the computer, dialing Judd’s number, but getting nothing.

  As the sun rose the next morning, she lay in bed, thinking of Tsion’s e-mail. Something he had said was running around in her head. Between that and news of Judd, she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

  “Thinking about Judd?” Shelly whispered from the cot next to Vicki’s.

  “I’m thinking about a lot of stuff,” Vicki said.

  “It’s good to see you tied up for a change. You always have your stuff together.”

  “If you only knew.”

  “So what is it?” Shelly said, sitting up.

  “I’ll tell you if you tell me what happened between you and Conrad. You guys were close, and then everything went south.”

  “I wouldn’t want to jinx you and Judd,” Shelly said.

  “What do you mean?”

  Shelly sighed. “Conrad’s sweet. He’s a little younger than me but really mature in a lot of ways. The closer we got and the more time we spent together, the more serious things became.”

  “He popped the question and you said no?”

  “Not exactly.” Shelly opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but looked at the floor. “This is really hard.”

  “Shel, what is it?”

  She paused a moment more, then looked at Vicki. “We were fixing up one of the cabins with Charlie—this was before the heat wave and before Judd came back.

  Charlie ran for some supplies, and Conrad asked if he could kiss me. I got kind of uncomfortable. We had both said we wouldn’t put ourselves in a situation where we were alone together, you know, so we wouldn’t be tempted. When I hesitated, he thought I didn’t like him anymore. Then I tried
to explain and things really got bad. I know it was only a kiss, but I just didn’t feel right.”

  “You guys talked after that, right?”

  “Shouted is more like it. He said if I didn’t trust him that we should break things off and just be friends. But we haven’t been, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

  “Maybe if you brought Marshall or Becky in on it, they could help resolve it.”

  “I feel so hurt by the whole thing, and I know he’s hurt too.”

  “I think you did the right thing saying no,” Vicki said. “Something in your gut told you it didn’t feel right.”

  “But Conrad’s nice. He would never do anything—”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Vicki said. “If you feel something’s not good and you push that down, you stop listening to the voice God gave you.”

  “What do you mean, ‘voice’?”

  “I think God gives us something inside that tells us when things don’t feel right. The times when I got into the most trouble, before I became a believer, were times when I didn’t listen to that feeling, that voice that was telling me to watch out. And I know a lot of other girls who’ve had those same feelings but didn’t listen to them because they were afraid they’d hurt somebody’s feelings.”

  “So I wasn’t crazy to say no?”

  “I don’t think so. And if Conrad loved you, he’d understand. Maybe he feels just as bad about it as you do. You won’t know until you talk.”

  Shelly nodded and stared into the darkness. “Maybe I will.” She turned to Vicki. “Now your turn.”

  Vicki waved a hand. “It’s nothing compared to—”

  “No fair, you promised.”

  Vicki rolled her eyes. “Well, the main thing is Judd. I don’t understand why he hasn’t called. If he’s hurt or something I’ll understand, but …”

  “Judd wouldn’t leave you hanging if he didn’t have a good reason.”

  “You’re right. But there’s something else. Tsion wrote back and told me what he thought would happen after the Glorious Appearing. I mean, if Judd and I do get married, will we still be married after Jesus comes back? Could we have children? There’s all kinds of questions, and the return of Christ is only a year away.”

  Shelly bit her lip. “Does make you think, doesn’t it?”

  Vicki pulled out a copy of Tsion’s e-mail she had printed and turned on her flashlight. “He’s talking about people who will go into the Millennium alive—”

  “What’s the mill … milla … what you said?”

  “A millennium is a thousand years. When Jesus comes back at the Glorious Appearing, he’s going to reign a thousand years before the time of judgment.”

  “And the thousand years starts after the battle of Armageddon, right?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So what did he say?”

  “Listen to this. ‘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 he returns.’ ”

  Shelly leaned forward. “I don’t get it. What’s the accountability thing?”

  “Tsion believes there will be kids alive who aren’t believers but are too young to really understand the gospel.”

  “Okay.”

  “I had a dream once before we found the schoolhouse. I wanted to take in as many people as we could and teach them. Even unbelievers. We were able to take in quite a few—Melinda, Lenore, and the others—but I always felt drawn to kids.”

  “And you want to do that after Jesus comes back?”

  Vicki frowned. “I don’t know how it would happen or even where, but wouldn’t it be exciting to take care of kids who don’t have parents? Kids who were just like we were after the Rapture?”

  Shelly raised her eyebrows. “You think you can get Judd to sign off on the idea?”

  “It’s probably just stupid—”

  “Don’t say that,” Shelly said. “You’ve always said if God plants an idea in your head, no matter what other people think, he can help you accomplish it.”

  Vicki lay back on the bed. “I wish I could talk about it with Judd.”

  For two more days Judd and the others stayed holed up in the underground compartment because of GC activity above. Many in the group wept for Rainer and Klaus, blaming themselves for not going after them.

  Judd thought of Chang. If he could get word to him about their trouble, Chang could do something. But Judd hadn’t told anyone he knew a believer inside the palace, and he feared that he might endanger Chang by dragging him into their problem. Judd decided he would only bring up Chang as a last resort.

  Judd recalled the envelope Rainer had given him, and he opened it while the others were asleep. Inside was another envelope and a note attached to it.

  Judd,

  I wrote this to Otto after we talked. Klaus and I are going to try to lure the GC away. Please give this letter to Otto if you can. And tell Vicki about me when you see her.

  In Christ,

  Rainer

  After dark, on the third day, Judd followed the others through the sewers to the safe house. They had heard no explosions, so they figured the GC hadn’t discovered the hideout.

  One by one they crawled through the secret opening and entered the house. Everyone tried to squeeze into the computer room, though some had to remain in the hall. The computers were off, and Helga guessed there had been a power outage.

  She fired up the computer with the biggest monitor and clicked on the security cameras. “That’s strange. I can’t get any of them to work.”

  “Maybe the outage affected the cameras and they have to be reset,” someone said.

  Helga scratched her head. “Something seems different.”

  “Work on it and we’ll get some food,” Gunther said.

  “Depending on how long the power was off, some of it may be spoiled.”

  Helga tried to pull up the Global Community News Network, but it wouldn’t work. “Judd, do me a favor and open the secret entrance, then close it and come right back.”

  Judd hurried and did what he was told.

  When he returned, Helga had a strange look on her face. “You opened it all the way, right?”

  “Yeah. What’s wrong?”

  “The alarm isn’t working on the computer.”

  A group rushed down the hall, and Judd thought someone was coming with food. Then he heard the click of rifles and shouts from the kitchen. Helga jumped up and darted for the hall but stopped dead in her tracks.

  A GC Peacekeeper stuck a gun through the door. “On the floor! Now!”

  5

  JUDD was stunned at the sight of uniformed Peacekeepers running through the hideout. He hit the floor and watched black boots surround him and Helga. An officer patted them down and took Judd’s cell phone. “On your feet and up the stairs.”

  The moon shone brightly as Judd climbed out and joined the others. Several squad cars with their lights on were parked in front of the house, illuminating the line of prisoners. A Peacekeeper ordered them to sit, then pointed a flashlight at their foreheads and their right hands, checking for the mark of Carpathia.

  Judd knew he should feel scared, but a sense of peace came over him. He almost felt relieved that the running and hiding were over.

  He thought of Vicki and regretted risking this trip. He had been trying to call her since they had gone into hiding, but his phone didn’t work underground. Now he would never again tell her he loved her. He wondered if the GC would make examples of them and show their executions on television. Or would the GC just get things over right here? The believers were outnumbered, and the GC had so many weapons.

  A man with several military medals pinned to his uniform stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back. “I suppose you’re wondering why your little operation didn’t explode when we entered, hmm?”

  When no one answered, the man gave a fake smile and continued. “Well, I’ll tell you. After your two fri
ends gave us trouble, we found your guns.” He motioned overhead. “When we uncovered your entrance, instead of barging in, we called in the bomb squad.” He pointed to the side of the house, and Judd saw a gaping hole. “We made a new entrance—hope you don’t mind—found your little bomb, defused it, and waited. What a shock when we heard you enter through the sewers.”

  Judd wondered if anyone would stand up to the officer, and he didn’t have to wait long. Westin shook his head, and the man in charge kicked Westin hard. “Wipe that silly grin off your face!”

  “You’re going to lose,” Westin said.

  The officer squinted. “You have no guns, you have no contact with other rebels, and you have no chance of escape.” He held up a small computer device. “And in this tiny drive I have all the information from your computers. Your contacts, your plans. Everything.”

  Helga gave the man a worried look. “Our files are encrypted. You’ll never be able to—”

  “With the resources of the Global Community? I’m sure our tech crew will have this figured out by my morning coffee.” He turned to Westin. “You’re crazy to think you can defeat us.”

  “You can kill us, but you’re not going to win,” Westin said.

  “Ah, a Judah-ite, eh?” The man turned and spoke to the men holding guns on the group. “Followers of Tsion Ben-Judah. They believe in the God of the Bible and that he is punishing us for our sins. That sums it up, doesn’t it, Judah-ite?”

  “I believe one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

  “Amen,” a few people whispered.

  “Jesus Christ?” The officer tapped his lips with his index finger and looked at the other Peacekeepers. “Haven’t seen him, have you?”

  The others laughed.

  “But I have seen someone come back from the dead. With my own eyes—not some fairy tale written thousands of years ago.”