Shadowed
Page 1
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Shadowed
Copyright © 2005 by Jerry B. Jenkins. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of Los Angeles copyright © by Digital Vision Photography. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of rearview mirror © Photodisc. All rights reserved.
Author photograph copyright © 2005 by Brian MacDonald. All rights reserved.
Designed by Dean H. Renninger
Edited by Ken Petersen
Published in association with the literary agency of Vigliano and Associates, 584 Broadway, Suite 809, New York, NY 10012.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jenkins, Jerry B.
Shadowed : the final judgment / Jerry Jenkins.
p. cm. — (Underground zealot ; bk. 3)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8423-8414-8
ISBN-10: 0-8423-8414-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-8423-8415-5 (softcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8423-8415-4 (softcover)
I. Title.
PS3560.E485S48 2006
813'.54—dc22 2005013444
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
What Has Gone Before
From Silenced: The Wrath of God Descends
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Epilogue
To
DR. JOE STOWELL
mentor, example, and friend
Thanks to
DIANNA JENKINS
DAVID VIGLIANO
RON BEERS
KEN PETERSEN
JEREMY TAYLOR
TIM MACDONALD
and
DEBBIE KAUPP
With gratitude to
JOHN PERRODIN
for research assistance
And to the always outrageous
MCNAIR WILSON
AT THE CONCLUSION OF WORLD WAR III in the fall of 2009, it was determined by the new international government in Bern, Switzerland, that beginning January 1 of the following year, the designation A.D. (anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord,” or after the birth of Christ) would be replaced by P.3. (post–World War III). Thus January 1, A.D. 2010, would become January 1, 1 P.3. Shadowed takes place thirty-seven years later in 38 P.3.
What Has Gone Before
AFTER THE THIRD WORLD WAR, a so-called holy war that resulted in the destruction of entire nations, antireligion, antiwar factions toppled nearly every head of state, and an international government rose from the ashes and mud. Religion was outlawed around the world in an attempt to eradicate war.
The United States was redrawn into seven regions and renamed the United Seven States of America (USSA), the president deposed, and the vice president installed as regional governor, reporting to the International Government of Peace in Bern, Switzerland.
When he completed his graduate studies in religion, Dr. Paul Stepola’s wife, Jae, urged him to pursue work with the National Peace Organization. Her father, retired army general Ranold B. Decenti, had helped build the NPO from the ashes of the FBI and the CIA.
Paul slowly works his way up in the organization. When the NPO initiates a new task force, the Zealot Underground, to expose and eliminate religious influence in the USSA, Chicago NPO bureau chief Bob Koontz taps Paul as a key member.
Paul becomes enmeshed in the NPO’s covert operations. He is the decorated sole survivor of a raid on a house church in San Francisco where he shoots and kills the leader, a widow. In a Texas investigation of oil-well sabotage he witnesses the stoning to death of an underground Christian. In a subsequent oil-field fire, Paul loses his sight.
While recovering, Paul meets Stuart “Straight” Rathe, a volunteer at the hospital and, unbeknownst to Paul, a secret believer. Paul asks his superiors for the contraband New Testament on disc so he can brush up on the beliefs of his targets, should he ever be able to see and work again. His exposure to Scripture and to Straight lead to his conversion and the dramatic restoration of his sight.
Paul cannot tell Jae, fearing she will tell her father and expose Paul to the death penalty. Straight introduces Paul to the leaders of the Christian underground, one of whom—code name Abraham—challenges Paul to become a double agent, staying in the NPO while secretly aiding the resistance.
Paul is able to appear committed to the NPO by arresting phony people of faith, but his true allegiance is put to the test in a major operation in Los Angeles. Paul is suspected and nearly found out as he secretly works with underground factions to protect them from genocide by the NPO. In the end, they pray for God to judge their enemies with a drought that affects everyone in L.A. except true believers.
Following three horrific terrorist attacks in Europe spearheaded by a man claiming to be a Christian believer, Paul is sent overseas to thwart him. There Paul secretly engages with underground believers and determines that the terrorist is not, in fact, a person of faith.
Though Paul is suspected of treason, followed, and monitored, his role in eliminating the terrorist buys him time and temporarily squelches the threat that he will be found out. Meanwhile his wife has begun listening to his New Testament discs, alternately worrying that he has become a believer and finding herself overwhelmed with the claims of Scripture on her own life.
The international government sets a deadline for all citizens to sign a pledge of loyalty that reads:
By order of the Supreme Council of the International Government of Peace, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, and dated this Monday, January 21, 38 P.3., it is resolved that within sixty days, or by March 22, 38 P.3., every citizen of the world community who has reached the age of eighteen years shall be required to stipulate by signing this document and having it on public record, thus:
“Under penalty of life imprisonment, or death in extreme cases, I hereby pledge th
at I personally support the global ban on the practice of religion. I am not affiliated with any group, organization, or individual who acts in opposition to the ruling of the international government on this matter, and I stipulate that if I become aware of any citizen violating this ordinance, I am under obligation to report the same, failure to do so resulting in the same punishment.”
With input from the underground leadership of Christian believers in Europe, the USSA, and throughout the world, Paul crafts a response to be disseminated as far and wide as believers dare, including to the major news organizations in their respective countries.
It reads:
To: The Honorable Baldwin Dengler, Chancellor of the International Government of Peace, Bern, Switzerland
From: The worldwide church of believers in the one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God’s Son, Jesus the Christ
Re: Your decree, announced this Monday, January 21, 38 P.3., which we call the year of our Lord, A.D. 2047
Chancellor Dengler:
We aver that the current world system, which has banned for nearly four decades the practice of religion by people of faith, is an abomination in the sight of Almighty God.
We believe that you and your government, as well as most of your loyal citizens, are unaware of the size and potential influence of a people that has, by your actions, been pushed underground and forced to practice their faith illegally.
We ask that you rescind immediately the decree announced today and put a moratorium on laws prohibiting the practice of religion until you can determine how people of faith can peaceably live in this society without fear of reprisal.
We are beseeching our God to act in judgment, should this request not be carried out within forty hours of when the decree is announced, or midnight, Bern Time, Tuesday, January 22. We believe that He will act to deliver us from you, our oppressor, as He did in Los Angeles, California, last year.
We respectfully warn that you will regret ignoring this request, as we are calling upon God to specifically act as He did thousands of years ago against Pharaoh in Egypt, when Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel flee his domain.
We refer you to the Old Testament account of the ten plagues God unleashed against Egypt. There are those among us who are asking God to eschew the first nine plagues and to refrain from hardening your heart, and it is our heartfelt wish that you avoid the dire consequences of the tenth plague at the forty-hour mark. Short of this, we fear that God may not limit this plague to the seat of the government but rather that it will affect the entire world.
To our brothers and sisters around the globe, we remind you that you need not feel bound by the Old Testament caveat of protecting your own households by sprinkling blood on your doorposts to identify yourself. We believe the blood of Christ has already been shed on your behalf and that God knows His own.
In conclusion: Rescind the loyalty decree, lift the laws against the practice of religion, or proceed at your own peril.
For your reference, following is the text of the carrying out of the tenth plague on Egypt, which we fear God may administer upon those who turn a deaf ear to our plea:
So Moses announced to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD says: About midnight I will pass through Egypt. All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest slave. Even the firstborn of the animals will die. Then a loud wail will be heard throughout the land of Egypt; there has never been such wailing before, and there never will be again.” . . . And at midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn son of the captive in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.
International Chancellor Baldwin Dengler responds that there will be no negotiating, claiming that believers are a very small number who don’t really have God’s ear. He reminds the world that such beliefs caused the very world war that resulted in the outlawing of religion.
Jae travels to Europe to visit Paul and discovers on his computer that he authored the Christian Manifesto. If she exposes him as a traitor, he will be put to death. Despite her upbringing and lifetime of atheism, she feels compelled to pray for him.
When Paul finally returns safely, she tells him she knows his secret. “Paul,” she says, “I don’t know where I am in all this, but you must know by now that I am not going to turn on you. Whether or not we ever agree about God, I don’t want to lose you.”
From Silenced: The Wrath of God Descends
“I CAN’T GO ON LONG with the NPO regardless, Jae. Even if I don’t reveal myself today, when I have not signed the loyalty document within sixty days, the truth will come out. You need to decide what kind of a life that means for you and the kids.”
* * *
On the plane [back to the States, January 22], Jae told Paul straight-out, “I do not believe this slaughter is going to take place. If it doesn’t, it will tell me a lot about your fellow believers and the effectiveness of their prayers. If it does, besides being the most shocked person in the world, I can’t promise how it will make me feel about God. I suppose I will have to believe He is real, but I would have a hard time understanding Him or liking Him much.”
Paul worried about Jae, of course, and he couldn’t quit looking at his watch. Midnight in Bern would be 6 p.m. in Washington. With the time change they expected to touch down in D.C. midmorning. Stretched way past his level of endurance, Paul didn’t know what else to say or do. He let his head fall and he slept the entire flight, not rousing until touchdown.
* * *
Jae was spent too, but she could not sleep. She wanted to find the verse that had been bugging her. She put the Hebrews disc back into the player and listened straight through until it jumped out at her:
You see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
She prayed, I want to believe that there is a God, and I am sincerely looking for You.
* * *
Jae’s mother picked them up at the airport. The kids were in school and, she said, already enjoying it and making friends. “Your father is at work, of course. But he can’t wait to see you both. Berlitz and Aryana [Jae’s brother and his wife] are coming for dinner at six-thirty.”
Jae felt as if she had come out of a haze of craziness into some semblance of sanity.
When the kids [Brie and Connor] got home from school that afternoon they attacked Paul and wrestled with him on the floor, telling him about everything they had been doing, friends they had made, and their teachers.
“Do we have to go back to Chicago now that you’re home?” Brie said.
“I thought you wanted to,” he said.
“We do, but not yet.”
Ranold pulled in at about five, hurrying into the house in his nicest suit but already pulling off the tie. He squeezed Jae’s shoulder and vigorously shook Paul’s hand. “I want to hear everything, son,” he said. “Everything. Let me get out of these clothes. Your mother tell you Berl and the new wife will be here for dinner?”
Paul nodded as the kids screamed, “Yay!”
Ranold bounded upstairs with more energy than Jae had noticed in ages, and he soon returned in a flannel shirt, wash pants, and white socks. “Pardon the informality,” he said, “but I didn’t need one more minute in that monkey suit. Paul, come on into the den and join me in a stiff one. You can debrief me, and we can catch the news before the other kids get here.”
* * *
[In the den] Paul kept glancing at his watch, and Ranold finally noticed. “Almost time for the news.” He switched on the TV. The last couple of minutes of a five-thirty sitcom were playing.
Paul drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.
“Couldn’t be more proud of you,” Ranold said. “Hey, you haven’t touched your Coke.”
“Not thirsty, I guess.” In truth, he wanted to be with Jae right now. He could hear her talking with her mother and the kids playing in the other room.
At six straight up, it was as if the power went out in the house. Everything went black—every light, the television, everything. Brie screamed.
Ranold said, “What the—?” and Paul heard him rise and move to the window, pulling back the curtain. “Streetlights too,” he said. “Power outage.”
And just like that, the lights came back on. The kids laughed. Margaret said something in a high-pitched, relieved voice. The TV picture sprang back to life, showing the anchorman slumped over the desk and his partner, a woman, standing, screaming for help.
“Would you look at that?” Ranold said, leaning forward. “Guy looks like he passed out. Heart attack or somethin’.”
The phone rang, and Paul heard Margaret answer. “Aryana,” she said, sounding alarmed, “what’s wrong?”
* * *
Jae looked up at her mother as the kids came bounding into the kitchen. “The lights were off!” Connor shouted, just as Margaret slumped to the floor, the phone clattering away.
“Daddy!” Jae called, and the men came in from the den as she picked up the phone. “Aryana?”
The woman was hysterical. “He just collapsed!” Aryana said. “When the power went out, or whatever happened, even our headlights went out. I told Berl to stop, but I could tell he wasn’t steering. I grabbed the wheel and could feel him just sitting there limp. I was able to get my foot on the brake when we hit the curb. Then the lights came back on. But, Jae, he’s dead!”
“What?”
“He’s dead! No pulse, nothing!”
“Dad!” Jae said. “You need to talk to Aryana.”
Jae took over trying to rouse her mother, who lay still on the floor, while Ranold took the phone.
“That can’t be, Aryana!” he said. “He’s a young man! Call the paramedics!”
Paul’s molar vibrated with a tone, and Ranold turned away as if also taking a call. “I’ve got to take this, Aryana,” he said. “Get help and call us back.”