I pull the neck of my T-shirt up over my face in an attempt to cover my nose and my mouth. I can't see a thing except for the eerie red glow off to my left, and I know that I need to get away from that—it's dangerous, deadly, and evil.
I must keep moving in the opposite direction of the fire. My time is limited. Shards of broken glass cut into my hands and knees as I creep along, and I keep bumping into things like cardboard boxes and plastic bottles and other sorts of unknown debris cluttered all over the place. It seems as if someone has been in here throwing things about, creating a huge mess that has become my obstacle course…or perhaps my death trap if I don't get out of here.
I can't give up! I continue navigating through my smoky prison. There must be a door in here somewhere. If I got into this place, there has to be a way out. I just wish I could remember where it is. I inch my way forward upright on my knees now, my arms outstretched and flailing in front of me. If only I could find a wall to follow along. Something that will lead me to a door or a window.
The heat is almost unbearable now. It feels like the back of my shirt is melting into my skin, like my lungs are about to collapse. And the putrid stench makes me want to vomit. I suddenly wonder if this is what hell would feel like—and how could anyone endure such torture? Is that where I am right now—in hell? But why? Why would I be in hell? Why would God allow that?
Finally my hands feel something solid, and it seems to be a wall. I rise to my feet and quickly use the rough wooden surface to guide me. Splinters pierce my fingers, but that's minor compared to the burning heat and the deadly smell.
I work my way along this wall until I reach what I think is a window. It's about three feet from the floor and feels as if a heavy canvas-like cloth is covering the glass. I tug at the cloth, but it's securely attached by what seem to be nails. Why would someone nail a window covering down?
Then I hear a loud sizzling, crackling noise behind me, from where I know the fire is increasing by the second. It's a menacing sound…almost demonic, like it wants to devour me, to burn me alive. I pound my fist against the cloth over the window, hoping that somehow I can loosen this covering and force open the window and—
I hear an ear-splitting explosion, and a blast knocks me off my feet and smack into the window.
When I come to my senses, I am lying facedown outside. I don't know how much time has passed, but I'm on some pavement that's cool and damp, probably from a recent rain. I can tell that it's night by the darkness and the streetlight several feet away. The wetness of the ground is such a welcome relief after the inferno I just escaped—that horrible explosion that I felt certain was going to kill me.
But when I slowly roll over onto my back and open my eyes, I see by the glow of the streetlight that what I thought was water is actually my own blood. Bright red blood is flowing everywhere. It's like a river of blood coming straight out of me. My arms and legs and entire body are sliced and shredded, probably a result of that explosion and crashing through the window.
I become dizzy from looking at my own pool of blood, or perhaps it's simply from the loss of it. No human could possibly survive so much blood loss without medical assistance. Without help, I will die.
I attempt to scream, but my voice feels small and weak. The street is completely vacant and quiet, not a car or pedestrian in sight. There is no one who can possibly come to my rescue.
“Dear God,” I sob, “please, please, help me! Help me!” Then I lean my head back and close my eyes, preparing myself to die because I know it won't be long now. It won't be long…
“Samantha!” I feel someone shaking me. “Samantha!”
I open my eyes once again, and there is my mother's face hovering over me with a worried expression. I blink and sit up, realizing that I am safe and in my own bed. I look down at my arms and see that I'm not cut. I'm not bleeding.
“Are you okay?” Mom sits next to me on the bed. “I heard you screaming in your sleep. Sounds like you were having a pretty bad dream.”
I'm still trying to catch my breath, to slow down my heart rate.
“Are you okay?” she asks again.
I nod.
My mom's face grows even more troubled now. “Was it one of those dreams?”
I know what she means by ‘those’ dreams. I also know that she'd probably rather not hear about it, but I'm still so shaken, so frightened, that I need to talk. “I don't know. All I know is that it was horrid.”
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
I frown. “Do you really want to hear?”
She sort of shrugs. “I'm awake…you might as well tell me.”
So I describe the dream to her, and her frown lines grow deeper as she listens. “That really was awful. Do you think it means anything?”
“I really don't know, Mom. I mean, I never saw anyone else in the dream. Usually those dreams are warnings for someone else. But it's like I was all alone in this one.”
“Well, surely, you don't think something like that could happen to you, do you?”
“I suppose the warning could be for me, and if I ever got into a Situation that felt anything like that, well, I'd probably remember this dream and get out of there before things got worse.”
Mom lets out a frustrated sigh, pressing her lips together, and I can tell that I've pushed her beyond her comfort zone.
The important thing to keep in mind,” I tell her, “is that when God gives me prophetic dreams, it's almost always to help someone orto prevent something bad from happening.”
She just shakes her head. I can tell she doesn't get it, doesn't want to get it, and I'm guessing she'd like to go back to bed. “Isn't there a good chance that it was simply a nightmare, Samantha?”
“Maybe…”
“Can you go back to sleep now?” She glances at my alarm clock. “It's not even four yet.”
“Yeah, I'll read my Bible for a while.” I force a smile for her benefit. “That always makes me feel better.”
Okay.” She leans over and kisses me on the forehead. Something she hasn't done since I was little and she used to put me to bed. “Hope you have some better dreams now.”
“Me too.”
And although I try to appear brave and like I'm perfectly fine, I am haunted by the reality of that dream. It felt like the real deal to me. And yet how can I know for sure? And if it really was from God, what does it mean? Was it meant for me or somebody else?
Reader's
Guide
Early in the story, Samantha begged God to give her a break from her special gift, but when He did, she got worried. Have you ever asked God to give you a break from something? Explain why and what happened.
Why do you think'Samantha was feeling stressed when Ebony asked her to help in the Peter Clark case? Should Sam have done anything differently? Explain.
Were you surprised at what Sam discovered when she visited the suicide website? What are your thoughts on suicide? How do you think God feels about suicide?
If you suspected a friend was considering suicide, what would you do or say to help that person?
What do you think about the dating relationship between Samantha and Conrad? What do you like or dislike about it?
Did you think it was important for Samantha to talk to her pastor about her unique gift as well as her employment opportunity with the police force? Why or why not?
How did you feel about Samantha's mother when she came home drunk? If you were Samantha, how would you have dealt with it?
What were your first impressions of Garrett Pierson? Do you know anyone like him? If so, how do you interact with that person?
Garrett seemed confused by a lot of things, including his sexual orientation. But Sam and Olivia pretty much accepted him for who he was. Do you think that was right or wrong? Why?
Do you think Sam was taking too big of a risk when she went onto the railroad bridge to talk Garrett down? Why or why not?
SO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT VISIO
NS AND DREAMS?
As Christians, we all have the Holy Spirit within us, and God speaks through His Spirit to guide us in our walk with Him. Most often, He speaks through our circumstances, changing our desires, giving us insight into Scripture, bringing the right words to say when speaking, or having another Christian speak words we need to hear. Yet God, in His sovereignty, may still choose to speak to us in a supernatural way, such as visions and dreams.
Our dreams, if they are truly of the Lord, should clearly line up with the Word and thus correctly reveal His character. We must always be very careful to test the words, interpretations of circumstances, dreams, visions, and advice that we receive. Satan wants to deceive us, and he has deceived many Christians into thinking that God is speaking when He is not. So how do we know if it's God's voice that we are actually hearing?
First we have to look at the Bible and see how and what He has spoken in the past, asking the question, Does what I'm hearing line up with who God shows Himself to be and the way He works in Scripture? Below is a list of references to dreams and visions in Scripture that will help you see what God has said about these gifts:
Genesis is full of dreams and visions! Check out some key chapters: 15, 20, 28, 31, 37, 40, 41
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
Judges 7
1 Kings 3
Jeremiah 23
Several passages in the book of Daniel
Joel 2
The book of Ezekiel has a lot of visions
There are a lot of dreams in the book of Matthew, specifically in chapters 1 and 2
Acts 9, 10, 16, 18
The whole book of Revelation
If you want to learn more and have a balanced perspective on all this stuff, you'll probably want to research the broader category of spiritual gifts. Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift, and they are important to learn about. Here is a list of books and websites that will help:
Hearing God's Voice by Henry and Richard Blackaby
What's So Spiritual about Your Gifts? by Henry and Mel Blackaby
Showing the Spirit by D. A. Carson
The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today by Wayne Grudem
Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? by Wayne Grudem
Keep in Step with the Spirit by J. I. Packer
http://www.expository.org/spiritualgifts.htm
www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Click on Theological Studies Section and choose Controversial Issues. Check out Session 03-04 and 18.
www.desiringgod.org. Click on Online Library and choose Topic Index, then check out Spiritual Gifts.
(Note: If you're doing a Google search on spiritual gifts or dreams and visions, please make sure you type in Christian as well. This will help you weed out a lot of deceitful stuff.)
As you continue to research and learn about spiritual gifts, always remember: The bottom line is to focus on the Giver, not the gift. God gives to us so we can glorify Him.
“Signs and wonders are not the saving word of grace; they are God's secondary testimony to the word of his grace. Signs and wonders do not save. They are not the power of God unto salvation. They do not transform the heart—any more than music or art or drama that accompany the gospel. Signs and wonders can be imitated by Satan (2 Thessalonians 2:9; Matthew 24:24), but the gospel is utterly contrary to his nature. What changes the heart and saves the soul is the self-authenticating glory of Christ seen in the message of the gospel (2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6).
But even if signs and wonders can't save the soul, they can, if God pleases, shatter the shell of disinterest; they can shatter the shell of cynicism; they can shatter the shell of false religion. Like every other good witness to the word of grace, they can help the fallen heart to fix its gaze on the gospel where the soul-saving, self-authenticating glory of the Lord shines. Therefore the early church longed for God to stretch forth his hand to heal, and (that signs and wonders be done in the name of Jesus.”
—John Piper, Desiring God
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BEYOND REACH
published by Multnomah Books
A division of Random House, Inc.
and in association with the literary agency of Sara A. Fortenberry
© 2007 by Carlson Management Co., Inc.
www.shootpw.com
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:
The Message
”1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group Multnomah is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The colophon is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carlson, Melody.
Beyond reach: a novel / Melody Carlson.
p. cm. - (The secret life of Samantha Mcgregor; bk. 2)
Summary: Samantha has a gift from God that makes her see visions of crimes and impending disasters, and she struggles to use this special ability to help people and to glorify God.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56192-3
[1. Christian life—Fiction. 2. Visions—Fiction. 3. Suicide—Fiction. 4. Death—Fiction. 5. High schools—Fiction. 6. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.C216637Bey2007
[Fie]—dc22
2006034482
v3.0
Beyond Reach Page 18
