Apocalypse

by Paul Lalonde

  APOCALYPSE

  Other Books in This Series from Peter and Paul Lalonde

  Revelation (Book #2)

  Tribulation (Book #3)

  Judgment (Book #4)

  APOCALYPSE

  PETER AND PAUL LALONDE

  Copyright © 2001 by Peter and Paul Lalonde

  All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

  Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

  Scripture quotations are from the following sources:

  The KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible.

  Library of Congress-in-Publication Data

  Lalonde, Peter.

  Apocalypse / Peter and Paul Lalonde.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 0-7852-6686-0

  1. Rapture (Christian eschatology)—Fiction. 2. Television news anchors—Fiction. 3. End of the world—Fiction. I. Lalonde, Paul, 1961- II. Title.

  PS.3562.A4147 A87 2001

  813'.54—dc21

  2001030799

  CIP

  Printed in the United States of America.

  01 02 030 4 05 PHX 5 4 3 2 1

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Prologue

  IN THE TROUBLED TIMES THAT WOULD FOLLOW when the very foundations of earth seemed to shake and crumble, Abdallah would insist that what had happened to his son was God’s will. He would recite the sacred words of ritual praise remembered since his childhood, holding back the tears for later when he could share his grief with his wife.

  The days turned to weeks, and his prayers continued, but as the turmoil and strife of these events that tore apart his homeland continued to unfold, Abdallah in his heart would truly come to believe the words he had spoken.

  He and his son had left that morning, invoking God’s name for their journey, as was the custom among his people. “Promise you and Ahmed will not be late returning home tonight,” his wife, Perichehr, pleaded.

  “No. The boy has much work to do and the journey is tiring,” replied Abdallah. “We will return before sunset, Insha’allah.” The words meant “God willing,” and though he spoke them frequently, they were always said with conviction. For Bedouins like Abdallah, as for so many other Arabs, God was supreme. They did not plan their futures. Fate could neither be known nor altered. They concerned themselves with the moment, and that moment had been an auspicious one.

  The trek to Megiddo through the Jezreel Valley of Israel, the sacred and historic site of so many past civilizations, was, and always had been, a joyous celebration of God’s people in all their diversity. He pointed out to his son the Lebanese, Ja’bari, Kurds, Samaritans, Vietnamese, Masri, Syrians, Ethiopian Copts, American Mormons, Maronites, evangelical Christian fundamentalists, and many others they met along the way as they passed a flourishing Jewish kibbutz. All were drawn to this site with its more than six thousand years of history, layered in sequences the archaeologists had only recently begun to uncover.

  “Do you see that mound of rocks, Ahmed?” asked Abdallah, pointing to the remains of one of several buildings. “This temple is over five thousand years old.”

  “Was that where Grandfather prayed to Allah when he was a boy?” asked the child with a note of awe.

  “That temple is older than your grandfather.” Abdallah laughed. “It is older than his grandfather. Even older than the time of the prophet Muhammad.” He wanted to tell the boy of the full history of this land, the history of the Creator’s hand in the lives of all men who called on Him uttering the name Allah or Yahweh, the Lord Almighty, or any of a dozen other names. Here were the ruins of temples and cities, each built upon the other, each bearing the witness of peace and war, love and hate, hope and frustration, fear and rejoicing.

  The location of Megiddo made it a natural passageway for armies bent on conquest, and Abdallah recited the tales of the great warriors of the past. He told his son of Thutmose III, who came to Megiddo to conquer a civilization so rich that it was written that he carried away 2,000 head of cattle, 400 horses, 900 carriages, including 2 made of gold from the houses of the governors of Megiddo, 20,500 sheep, along with battle armor, military uniforms, archers’ bows . . . The list was as endless as the years of antiquity.

  “Each new city was built upon the old,” Abdallah explained. “The day will come when you will read of men such as Thutmose and King David, Ahab and King Solomon, King Josiah and Pharaoh Necho. You will see the hand of Allah bestowing peace on stubborn people who only kept returning to war. You will see how each layer of these ruins, each city built upon a city past, represents new hope for the people of this land.”

  The boy did not understand. He was too young. Ahmed wanted only to toss pebbles over the edge of the archaeological digs to see how far they would drop. But his father still had to begin the process of teaching his son a way different from that of his own father, whose passionate anger turned to hatred as he saw his beloved Palestine become an occupied territory. As an old man, he would curse the day he first heard the Jewish term “Eretz Israel,” the land promised by God. He cursed as well the Christians who saw this land as that of Jesus’ ministry but failed to even acknowledge Muhammad.

  Abdallah thought differently. The ruins of Megiddo, the shades and colors of its visitors, all reminded him of God’s vast creation. Rather than being angered by the difference of names of God, he rejoiced that so many people were coming to worship the one true Creator. He had read not just the Koran, but the Bible as well. He had seen that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was mentioned more times in his people’s holy book than in the New Testament. He realized that there was a deeper message for those who would only try to see and understand.

  While others were drawn to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where three faiths had fought for so long over the name of God, he came here to Megiddo. The excavation always made him feel as though he was in touch with the lives and destinies of the world, preparing him for something new and preordained.

  “You are a foolish man,” his wife had teasingly told him. She knew it was wrong to speak against the teachings of the elders. But she also knew that her husband was a man of deep devotion. What did it matter if he took his only son from the sheep and the cattle for a few hours? They would return before sunset, Insha’allah, happy for the day they had together.

  The woman from the tourist bus saw him first. Although he was not in uniform, the tour guide had explained how all Israelis are trained for the army at eighteen. They could be called to active duty at any time, and they frequently went out on patrol in civilian dress. It was why so many men and women carried weapons, rifles having replaced the swords of other eras awaiting the return of the Messiah when He would beat them into plowshares.

  The woman wanted to take a photo of the soldier and asked her husband if he thought it would be rude to ask. She had already snapped a picture of the Bedouin father and son, something the tour guide admonished her against. Such casual photographing without permission violated Arab sensibilities, and she did not want to offend anyone else.

  “Everybody takes pictures of the soldiers,” her husband replied. “I saw it done in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and in Naz
areth. Why should this place be any different?”

  The woman shrugged, picking up her camera and turned toward the man now cradling his weapon in his arms. She waved to him, hoping to get him to look her way. But when he started to turn, it was too late to realize that he was not posing but starting to aim his rifle straight at her.

  For an instant all was frozen. The tour guide held a microphone, telling the tourists that their bus would depart in five minutes. The Arab man was laughing at his son, who had thrown a pebble at a bird that now dived down on him, angrily squawking its displeasure. The woman continued to shoot frame after frame as, nearby an Israeli couple leaned against a tree, drinking something cold before starting back to their kibbutz.

  In the next moment, horror and shock erupted. A bullet shattered the knee of the woman with the camera, sending her plunging to the ground, screaming in agony. A window of the tour bus exploded, shards of glass peppering the driver’s face like slashing razors. Several Israelis rushed at the gunman, grabbing his weapon, raining down blows until he dropped to the ground. Using a belt they bound his wrists. As Abdallah watched in terror, he turned to see Ahmed, his only son, sprawled on the ground, the earth beneath turning red from the blood pouring from a gaping head wound.

  “Ahmed!” he screamed, running desperately to the fallen child. “Ahmed!”

  Abdallah realized there was no hope even before he reached the lifeless figure, even before someone from the tour bus, identifying herself as a retired nurse, pronounced his child beyond help. He could not tell if the shooter was an Arab or a Jew. He did not know if he was a terrorist or a man driven insane with the anger that infected this land nor did he care. Cradling his son’s head and crying out to the living God, he could only ask, “Why?” over and over again.

  His faith told him that death was not the end, a belief echoed by the other holy books he had secretly read in his youth. Ahmed would be in a joyous place in the arms of a Father who had lost His own Son for the sins of this world. Abdallah understood all this, but it didn’t matter. His grief crushed him like a stone

  Within minutes people were swarming about the site, some with guns, some with medical kits. The residents of the kibbutz had grown accustomed to dealing with pain and violence and death. Joy and sorrow were two sides of a coin, endlessly turning in this land, buffeted by winds of change. They had learned through it all only to praise God, accepting His ultimate wisdom and justice, burying the dead, and tending to the wounded, even as they rejoiced with each new life in the endless circle of birth and death.

  Abdallah heard many voices in several languages, but could understand nothing. Someone wrapped their arms about his shoulders, a stranger who did not understand his people’s rituals of grief. Still Abdallah felt strangely comforted, as though his loss had touched another and this act reached beyond traditions. Why must human beings suffer tragedy before the love of God could be revealed in them?

  It was then that a great light of understanding broke over him. He understood why so many Christians ignored the name of Meggido and chose to use the other name by which it was called—Armageddon.

  Perhaps, after all, that explained why his only son, an innocent child in love with all creation, could meet a violent and senseless death in such a holy place. Until now, Abdallah had always rejoiced in the boundless love of the God who, time and again, allowed Megiddo to be rebuilt, each new community rising on the ruins of the previous. Now he understood that the Christians were right all along. Megiddo should be called Armageddon, a place where one day, the last battle between good and evil would be fought. He could only wonder in his deep sorrow, as so many arms reached out, so many tongues spoke strange but comforting words, if the good forces would fall short as they had this day—too late to prevent the fearful triumph of evil.

  Even if Ginnie had asked, Lennie probably couldn’t have told her why he had picked her to go to the prom. It was true that they both loved dancing, even if their skill was far exceeded by their enthusiasm.

  Between them, Lennie and Ginnie had completed a collection of old Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies, watching enthralled as the stars danced with such partners as Ginger Rogers, Debbie Reynolds, and Cyd Charisse. Together they transform themselves into the romantic leads of Top Hat, Singin’ in the Rain, On the Town, and so many others.

  Not that their practice had helped that much. In the years they had been best friends, Ginnie had broken a big toe, had several major bruises, and a sprained ankle. Lennie had wrenched his back and received seventeen stitches that time he’d tripped over a floor lamp and put his hand through an aquarium. They both knew better than to venture onto the dance floor on prom night except, perhaps, for a slow dance or two. They might have shared a love of big band music, but classmates preferred groups whose names couldn’t even be written on the prom posters. The music, of course, was even more foul.

  Still, it was the prom, the last big event of high school before graduation and college. And, while Lennie knew that none of the other guys would ever consider dating a “geek” like Ginnie, with her sweaty palms, spotty face, and a pre-pubescent figure, he visibly relaxed when she said she was available. And, while Ginnie knew that the other girls made fun of Lennie’s serious side, heading up an after-school Bible study club, and talking to teens about how to prepare for the end times, she, too, was relieved when he invited her.

  That night they huddled in the midst of raucous sounds and colors as all around kids cavorted to sounds that reminded Ginnie of Joshua bringing down the walls of Jericho. At first they tried to talk—there was always something to say no matter how many hours they spent on the telephone.

  Then they tried their best to enjoy the music, but the volume was more than the small gym could absorb. Most of the chaperones wore earplugs and those who didn’t kept finding excuses to escape, if only for a few minutes.

  It was then that Lennie’s hand found itself holding Ginnie’s for the first time since they became friends. Ginnie didn’t object—it seemed so natural. His warm, reassuring touch spoke of the sense of common destiny they both shared.

  Neither was exactly aware of when they got up to leave. Lennie said something about punch. Ginnie mentioned the buffet. They moved toward the table still holding hands. And without saying a word or changing direction, they suddenly found themselves outside the gym in the cool night air.

  The high school was located at the base of a hill, and they walked slowly up a path that led to an overlook and a panorama of the Los Angeles skyline. The full moon was hazy through the smog, and shades of red and yellow still lingered from the brilliant sunset made even more spectacular by the dirty air.

  With the city spread out beneath them, Lennie and Ginnie each felt alive with feelings neither could express but knew instinctively the other would understand. They reached the top of the hill and stood silently for moments that seemed like a sweet eternity. Neither was aware of time’s passage, attuned instead only to each other. The emotions they knew transcended adolescent infatuation.

  Their lips met, the first kiss for each, gentle and unhurried. Their hearts understood what their minds did not yet comprehend. Lennie felt her hand caress the back of his neck. Ginnie felt herself enveloped in his arms, arms that seemed so strong, so comforting, so familiar. Light-headed, pausing for breath, they kissed again as Lennie’s glasses slipped from his face and the city lights became but a blur of brilliant color. A gentle quaking seemed to radiate from their toes to their heads. Ginnie smiled, then laughed with joy, kissing Lennie once more. She knew love could move mountains, but this was more like standing on a rug that had been suddenly yanked from under their feet. A sound like a freight train roared up around them.

  The couple felt the ever-growing shocks. “Lennie!” Ginnie shouted, suddenly frightened and grabbing his sleeve.

  “I’ve got you!” he replied, reaching for her arm and bringing her near. The sensation lasted less than a minute, though it seemed much longer. When it was over, Lennie, his glasses be
nt and one lens popped out, looked down the hill squinting into the blurry night.

  “Ginnie,” he whispered. “Oh, my Lord, Ginnie.” The high school that had moments before been ablaze with lights and throbbing music was now in complete darkness. By the dim glow of the moon, they could see what had once been steel, concrete, and glass had now become a pile of rubble. The destruction had been swift and total, as though the school had been constructed of children’s building blocks and smashed by a sledgehammer.

  As they watched, an eerie light began to flicker, growing stronger and finally bursting forth like a hellish beacon in the night sky. The remains of the school were ablaze, along with the other buildings around it. The earth was buckled and cracked by the force of the earthquake.

  “I guess it was the big one,” Ginnie whispered, then felt another sharp jolt. The next quake was shorter but of equal intensity, sending them tumbling down the hill together, fighting for handholds as they clutched at each other.

  Coming to a stop Lennie immediately realized they would have to call for help, to try to get a rescue effort under way. In the distance they could hear the mournful wail of endless car alarms triggered by the quake. The telephone lines were probably dead, but someone was bound to have a cell phone that still worked.

  It was then that they noticed the most chilling sound of all—a deafening silence from the school gym where moments before the prom had been in full swing.

  The quake had instantly created a carnage more complete than any bomb landing directly on the building.

  Although Lennie and Ginnie would tear at the rubble until their hands were bleeding and their clothing in tatters; although surviving neighbors joined them with picks, shovels, and pry bars, no one, in the end, was found alive. The prom goers had all perished beneath tons of concrete and steel.

  Only Ginnie and Lennie were left alive from among their classmates, and in the days that followed, their story would be repeated hundreds of times as Los Angeles struggled to feed, shelter, and comfort hundreds of thousands of people left homeless. Hope was sustained by the account of two teens who had survived a catastrophe that, in the end, would take more lives than every war Americans had fought since the Revolution.