The Days of Elijah, Book Two: Wormwood: A Novel of the Great Tribulation in America

by Mark Goodwin

“Everett, gear up and get down here as fast as you can. We’ve got company coming our way!”

  Everett sprang out of bed, putting on his pants and then grabbing his HK rifle. He stepped into his boots and took his jacket which was hanging from a nail in one of the low rafters. He quickly retrieved three extra magazines from the safe, sticking them into various pockets and started down the ladder.

  Courtney got out of bed and swiftly put on her jeans then pulled a sweater over her head. “What’s happening?”

  Everett paused briefly on the steps of the ladder. “I don’t know. Maybe the GR chopper picked us up on thermal. Call Elijah on the radio and tell him there’s trouble. You and Sarah take up positions from inside. Kevin and I will try to flank them.”

  “Be safe!” She grabbed her Mini 14 and followed him down the stairs.

  “What have we got?” Everett found Kevin near the front door, AK-47 in hand, wearing a chest rig with several magazines.

  “Motorcycles. Probably dirt bikes.” Kevin opened the front door as he listened.

  “We’ll take a position up by the rock and the girls can hold the cabin. What do you think?” Everett could hear the sound getting closer.

  “I don’t think we have time to get up the hill. We’ll have to all stay inside.” Kevin closed the door and opened the front window. “Sarah, Courtney. Open the back windows so you can shoot out. But stay back and find cover.”

  Sarah called out from the back bedroom. “Roger!”

  Everett switched off the safety and stayed low in the corner of the room. He listened as the sound of motorbikes drew near. He could see three dirt bikes turn into the drive. All three riders had motocross helmets and were armed with battle rifles slung across their backs. They certainly didn’t look like they were affiliated with the Global Republic. The riders pulled into the yard and cut their engines.

  “Get your hands up! You’ve got three seconds to state your business before we unleash holy hell on you!” Everett screamed.

  The three riders raised their hands. The one in the front was huge. He put one finger in the air and slowly moved his other hand to remove the helmet.

  Everett whispered to Kevin, “I’ve got the big guy. You watch the other two.”

  “Got it,” Kevin replied.

  Everett kept his front sight trained on the man’s chest. He’d fired the HK enough to know exactly how much slack was in the trigger, and he had his finger ready to fire.

  The big man removed his helmet. “You folks are mighty jumpy.”

  Everett immediately recognized the voice and the long beard. “Tommy?”

  “We come in peace.” Tommy lowered his kickstand and slowly stepped off the bike.

  Everett slowly lowered his weapon. He trusted Tommy, but not that much. “Who is that with you?”

  The other two riders removed their helmets and Tommy introduced them. “This here is Preacher; well, his name is Roy Thomas, but we all call him Preacher. The other fella is Devin. He used to be the bartender at the Gray Fox. You might have met him before.”

  Devin and Roy each slowly removed their helmets.

  “Reckon it’d be alright if we come in and chat for a spell?” Tommy asked.

  Everett looked at Kevin before accepting. “Sure. But if you don’t mind, I think we’d feel better if you left your rifles by your bikes, at least until our hearts stop pounding.”

  Tommy looked annoyed. “That ain't too neighborly, but I guess I understand. We wouldn’t have dropped by unannounced if I’d had your number.”

  Everett walked to the door and opened it. “Wouldn’t have done you any good. I forgot to pay my phone bill.”

  Tommy chuckled and shook Everett’s hand as he walked in the door. “How y’all been?”

  “Jumpy.” Everett winked. “GR helicopters have been flying over the past few days.”

  “Yep. The good ol’ days of the government being as confused as a fruit fly in a bowl of wax bananas are long gone.” Tommy unzipped his jacket.

  Courtney and Sarah cautiously emerged from the back bedroom carrying their rifles.

  Elijah let himself in through the front door. He was carrying his old double-barrel shotgun. “I assume everything is okay.”

  “Yes. But thanks for coming down.” Everett introduced Elijah, Courtney, and Sarah to Tommy and his boys.

  Courtney smiled politely but kept her hands on her weapon. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Sarah took her rifle to the bedroom and returned. “Can I offer you some coffee?”

  “That would be real nice, thank you.” Tommy smiled and returned his attention to Everett. “The GR has set up shop in Winchester. We were getting along pretty well without them. Now they’ve come along with their what’s-yours-is-mine notion. That ain't settin’ well. They’re helpin’ themselves to whatever they see fit to take. The old government did the same thing, but they’d leave a man enough to feed his family. Not this lot. They don’t leave you with nothing but a grumblin’ belly.”

  Everett smiled. “You seem like you’d perfected your skills of evading the previous government.”

  Tommy chuckled. “I did. I reckon I still manage to stay out of sight and out of mind with this group of swindlers as well. But my business, and thereby my well-being, depend on the common folk being free to do as they please. I also see their liberty and prosperity as being something of a responsibility on my part.”

  “Sort of an unconventional statesman. I understand. Go on.” Everett was enjoying Tommy’s dissertation.

  Tommy proceeded. “Well, we figure it’d be best to hit this bunch now before tyranny takes root. From what I gather, they’re still having a rough time of it and I expect there’d be a limit to how much time and resources they want to expend on little old Winchester.”

  Kevin nodded. “Sounds good, but what does that have to do with us?”

  “You’d be beneficiaries of our toil. Them choppers you’ve been seein’ down around Woodstock, they’re flying out of Winchester. If we run them out of our town, your problem goes away.”

  Everett motioned toward the couch and the chairs. “Please, everyone have a seat. We’ll bring in some chairs from the kitchen. So what are you asking us for?”

  Tommy took a seat in the recliner. “We’d like you to fight with us.”

  Everett sighed as he walked to the kitchen to grab a couple of chairs. He returned, sat in one of the chairs and thought about how to decline the request.

  Kevin took a seat in one of the chairs and looked at Everett. “Maybe we could make a donation to the cause.”

  Everett nodded and turned his attention toward Tommy. “We could probably scrounge up some food and ammo. Would that help?”

  Tommy dropped his head. “Lloyd was so sure that we’d be able to count on you boys to be in the fight.”

  A sharp pang of guilt hit Everett in his stomach. He didn’t want to be a coward, but this was a losing battle. “Tommy, you’re talking about taking on the anti-Christ. I know you don’t put much stock in the Bible, but we do. And according to the way we read it, this guy, Luz, he has been granted a free pass for the next five and a half years. There is no stopping him.”

  Tommy raked his fingers through his long hair. “I believe the good book. I’m not coming at this thing without considering what it says. Preacher, why don’t you tell these folks what you told me.”

  Everett turned to Roy, the man they called Preacher. He looked nothing like a preacher. His hair was long on top, but cut above the collar. It was growing thin and had less gray than his beard which was little more than a week’s worth of stubble. He had bad skin. His face was pitted, probably from chronic acne at a younger age. His jeans were old, and he wore a quilted-lined red plaid shirt for a jacket. Everett remembered what Lloyd had told him about Roy being a heavy drinker up until the Rapture.

  Preacher sat up on the couch. “I’ve been a student of the Bible since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too big on the whole repentance thing. At least not u
ntil now. But I’m getting off the subject. About the Global Republic. It’s true, according to the Bible, they’ve been given a time to reign. But, Luz is still subject to the chaos and confusion that comes via the Judgments. You saw what a setback they had from the quake.”

  Everett shook his head. “So your plan is to kick the bully in the shin and run away, hoping that a meteor will fall on his head before he can catch you? That’s a little overly optimistic, don’t you think?”

  Devin, the bartender from the Gray Fox, was younger than Tommy and Preacher. Everett figured him to be closest to his own age; late twenties, most likely. He had short dark hair, and he was tall and fit.

  Devin smirked. “You’re oversimplifying it. The Global Republic hasn’t fully recovered from the quake. They’re still vulnerable. If we can keep their heads spinning until the next round of cataclysms, we might have a chance. Otherwise, we’re dead anyway. I don’t know if you guys got the memo, but they’re going to be televising mass beheadings of anyone who won’t take the Mark. Once the GR gets a foothold in Winchester, they’ll be all through these mountains. And if you guys don’t take the Mark, you’ll all get your fifteen seconds of fame by being decapitated on global television. Sure, we might get gunned down. But at least we’ll die with dignity.”

  Everett grunted his displeasure at the situation. “Elijah, what do you think?”

  Elijah put his hand in the air. “No. I have told you before. I will not always be with you. You must learn to hear from God yourself!”

  Everett shrugged. “I pray and read my Bible every morning. Most of the time, I feel like he gives me the wisdom to make the right decisions. But this is a little perplexing. Isn’t it okay to ask a man of God for council?”

  Elijah softened his tone. “It is. But you have to learn to seek God. To hear from him. To know his will.”

  “And how do we do that?” Courtney asked.

  “You fast. You put aside food for a day or two, maybe three. You turn down the volume on your flesh and instead, you feed your spirit with God’s Word, with prayer, with worship. As your flesh grows weak, your spirit grows strong. Like a radio when you get it in tune, and the static starts to disappear, you hear more clearly. And that is what you need, to be in tune with God. To hear his voice clearly, without the static of the flesh.”

  Kevin exhaled deeply and looked at Everett.

  Everett was sure Kevin was thinking just what he was thinking. The old man was asking them not to eat. The one small pleasure they had in life, and Elijah was asking them to give it up. Everett turned to Tommy. “Can we get back to you in a few days?”

  Tommy stood up. He seemed to understand that Everett couldn’t give him an answer right away. “I reckon that’ll have to be alright. I don’t have much of a choice. Stewart has a radio set up in his basement. We don’t use it much because we figure the GR is probably listening in. But we’ll come up with a code and a time. We’re planning to hit them a week from Thursday. Can you give me an answer by this Friday? That’d give me plenty of time to work you into the plan.”

  Everett nodded. “We’ll call you this Thursday at 11:00 AM. If we say we’re going to the dance, then you can count us in.”

  Tommy smiled. “And by us, you mean you and Kevin?”

  Everett looked around the room before answering.

  Courtney shook her head. “No. If Everett goes, I go. I have no desire to sit around here by myself and worry.”

  “Ditto,” Sarah said.

  Elijah sighed. “If the sheep wander away, the shepherd must also go. Provided I’m not given other instructions, that is.”

  Everett stood to shake Tommy’s hand. “Do you know what frequency we should use to call Stewart?”

  Tommy turned to Preacher. “Do you know?”

  Preacher shook his head. “No, but you can give us a frequency, and we’ll make sure we’re tuned in at the right time. I know the handle he’s been using is Mountain Saint. They used to all go by call signals, but radio etiquette has evolved along with everything else.”

  Everett found a pen and paper and wrote down a frequency and a handle. “If something comes up, and you can’t get to the radio at that time, we’ll try back the next day at 11:00 AM. As a matter of fact, we’ll make sure we’re listening every day at 11:00 in case you need to get in contact with us.”

  Tommy and his crew said their goodbyes. They retrieved their weapons, placed their helmets on their heads, and rode away on the dirt bikes.

  Everett was not looking forward to learning his new spiritual discipline, but he trusted that it would work.

  Everett, Courtney, Kevin, and Sarah all fasted the following day. The four of them gathered around the kitchen table and prayed that God would give them a definite answer. They asked that God would confirm the answer by putting them all at peace with the decision. Everett spent extra time reading the Bible, praying, and seeking God Monday morning. Afterward, he felt slow and tired, but there were chores to do, so he kept going.

  At Sundown on Monday, Kevin and Sarah broke their fast. Everett and Courtney continued. Everett was famished, but he was determined to stick it out until he’d heard from God.

  When Everett woke up on Tuesday, he wasn’t quite so hungry as he’d felt the day before. He felt a bit dizzy, but he felt stronger and more energetic than the prior day. He continued reading the Word, seeking God and praying. He and Courtney sat on the front porch and prayed as the sun set that evening. They still had not heard from God.

  Courtney held Everett’s hand. “You know, maybe God doesn’t work like that all the time. I’m sure Elijah meant well. And I’m sure it’s a good thing to do once in a while. Maybe the fact that we haven’t heard anything means that we’re not supposed to do anything. Perhaps it’s God’s way of telling us to sit this one out.”

  Everett stared at the colors of the sunset in the sky across the foothills. He sighed. “We both heard from God when we went on the quest to confront Luz. You remember that, right? It wasn’t just our imaginations. We both heard the same thing, from two different Bible verses. God was really speaking to us, individually. You still believe that, right?”

  She smiled. “I do believe it. And yes, he was speaking to us. There’s no doubt about it. Maybe he still will. We weren’t fasting that time. Come on, let’s get something to eat. We’ll keep reading our Bibles and listening for an answer.”

  The thought of food sounded fantastic. Everett was certainly hungry. But, he felt an urge from inside to press on, to dig a little deeper. He looked up at Courtney. “You go ahead. I’m going to stick it out for one more night.”

  “Are you sure?” Courtney stood up, looking at him compassionately.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.” He nodded with a smile.

  “Okay. I love you, Everett Carroll.” She went inside.

  Wednesday morning, Everett woke up from a peculiar dream. As soon as his eyes opened, the details of the dream faded like a vapor, but he knew he’d been in the presence of God as he slept. Right away, he felt an urge to open his Bible to Deuteronomy. He quickly took it from atop the bucket next to his bed. Everett scrambled to find Deuteronomy. He flipped through the front pages, stopping on Deuteronomy chapter seven. When he arrived at the second verse, he read it aloud softly, so not to wake Courtney. “And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them.”

  He continued reading silently until he came to verse twenty-three. “But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction until they be destroyed.”

  Courtney rolled over and smiled. “What did you say?”

  “Oh, I was reading. Sorry to wake you.”

  “Reading what?” She sat up to look at the Bible.

  “Deuteronomy seven. This whole chapter is about God delivering the enemies of Israel into their hands, and about how he would protect them.”

  “Can I see?”r />
  Everett handed her the Bible.

  She read over the chapter. “So is this our answer?”

  “Yeah. I think so.”

  She nodded. “I think you’re right.”

  Everett got up and put on his clothes. “I’ll tell Kevin and Sarah. I want to have Elijah over and run it by him before we decide to give Tommy a definite answer.”

  “Sounds good. You can invite him over for breakfast. I’m sure you’re ready to eat.”

  Everett bent down to kiss her. “You’re right about that!”

  CHAPTER 3

  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

  Revelation 8:2-7

  Early the next Sunday evening, Everett stood on Elijah’s porch. He watched the clouds rolling in from the east. They were black and ominous. He could hear the low rumblings of thunder and see lightning inside the distant clouds. Everett walked inside where no one else seemed concerned.

  Sarah picked at some of the food which Elijah had laid out on his kitchen counter. “I thought you were supposed to fast on Yom Kippur.”

  Elijah shrugged. “You’re welcome to fast if you like. But Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. Your sins were atoned for, once and for all, by the sacrifice of Messiah. Paul says to the church in Galatia, ‘This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?’