by Goodwin,Mark
Courtney grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. “Everyone is going to be at Elijah’s house. Everything is going to be fine.” She opened the car door for Everett, gave him a nudge to sit down, and then closed the door on the passenger’s side of the BMW. Backing out of the driveway in a hurry, she slammed into a tree trunk. “Sorry about that, but it will be worth it to find our friends.”
Everett said nothing about hitting the tree.
Courtney drove up the mountain and pulled into Elijah’s drive. She blew the horn twice. Elijah came to the door.
“Look, what did I tell you? Elijah is still here. I bet you anything that Ken and Lisa are inside drinking tea.”
Elijah walked out onto his porch as Everett and Courtney got out of the car. “Are you okay? You gave me quite a scare with the horn blowing.”
Courtney chuckled. “Sorry about that. Everett was convinced that you, Ken, and Lisa had all disappeared. He had me sort of shaken up with the whole thing. I guess I was a little panicky.”
Elijah furrowed his brow. “Yes, well, come inside. Come inside.”
Everett walked in and looked around. “Are Ken and Lisa here?”
“No.” The old man closed the door behind them.
Courtney looked confused. “Oh, do you know where they are?”
Elijah’s eyes were compassionate. “Why don’t you two come sit down in the kitchen; I’ll put on a pot of tea.”
Everett followed him into the kitchen. His voice was frantic. “It was the rapture, right? Jesus came to get the Christians, right? Why are you still here?”
Elijah put the tea bags in the kettle and filled it with water. “Yes, Messiah came for his saints. It was what you call the rapture.” Elijah turned on the gas stove and put the kettle on the burner. “Why am I still here? Now that’s a long story.”
Courtney’s eyes were worried. She seemed to be grasping the weight of the situation. “Tell us, please.”
Elijah sat down and folded his hands. “I was sent for such a time as this. Let’s think of our present predicament in the terms of international warfare. Just before a nation or, in this case, a kingdom declares war on another kingdom, the first thing that kingdom will do is close all of its embassies. And, of course, it will call all of its ambassadors home. That is what has happened. The ambassadors of heaven have been called home. The only ones left are those who act in an intelligence or warfare capacity, like secret agents.”
Everett looked at Elijah. “So there are others besides you?”
Elijah nodded. “One other. We were sent to bear witness to the coming times and pronounce judgment against the nations on behalf of Messiah.”
“Are you an angel?” Courtney looked very confused.
“No. I’m a man. God has seen fit to grant me a rather . . . unique existence. I was whisked away and then sent back. I can tell you, I didn’t miss it. But I won’t be around that long anyway.”
Everett had no idea what the old man was talking about. “Now I believe. I believe Jesus is real, but it’s too late.”
Courtney looked at Everett and nodded. “Lisa tried to tell me over and over. It just didn’t make sense. But how else can it be explained? The disappearances; it’s exactly the way she said it would happen. She said they would all just be gone someday. And she said the world would go through the most terrible time in history, even worse than what’s happening now. And we’re too late.”
Elijah smiled. “You’re too late to be caught up. It’s true; that ship has sailed. But, as long as you have breath in your lungs, it’s not too late to repent, call upon the name of the Messiah, and be saved. He is merciful and patient, not wanting that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and be saved.”
Everett looked deeply into Elijah’s eyes. “I repent; I’m sorry that I didn’t believe. I believe in Jesus. I believe he is God. What do I do? What do I say?”
“Me, too.” Courtney held Everett’s hand as she looked at the old man.
Elijah held his hand up. “Don’t tell me; tell him.”
Everett fell to his knees. “Jesus, forgive me. I’ve heard you knocking. I’ve found an excuse not to listen every time. But now I know. You are God.”
Courtney cried out, “Forgive me, Jesus. I’m sorry I didn’t believe. Lisa told me what terrible days are coming. I pray that you will help us get through them.”
Elijah stood and poured the tea. “Welcome to the family. Now for our next order of business; repentance means turning away from your sin. If Jesus really is Lord, as you have said then you will allow him to be Lord of your life. The two of you are living in sin.”
Everett had no idea what Elijah was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not married.”
“Oh.” Everett paused for a second. “Courtney, will you marry me?”
Courtney smiled, and tears of joy streamed down her face. She wrapped her arms around Everett’s neck. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Elijah, will you perform the ceremony?”
“Yes, but it should be soon. When I get my marching orders, I have to go, right away.”
Everett looked at Courtney. “Tonight?”
She nodded with a grin from ear to ear. “Tonight!”
Everett felt peace like he’d never felt before in his life. That uneasiness he had felt, ever since Jones started confronting him about believing in God, was gone. He was in love with Courtney, more than ever before. They were about to go through the worst period of time since the creation of the earth. They had missed the rapture, but they hadn’t missed heaven.
CHAPTER 1
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 Timothy 3:1
Everett held the door open for Courtney when they got back to the small cabin, which was just a few minutes’ drive down the mountain from Elijah’s place. He closed the door behind her and locked the latch out of habit. He leaned up against the wall and stared blankly trying to process everything that was happening. Everett ran his hand through his hair and tossed the car keys on the table near the door.
Courtney walked over and took his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” His voice was despondent as he continued to stare at nothing. “I just don’t know what to think. I don’t know where to start. There’re so many things to figure out. So much stuff to do. And Ken . . . I’ll miss him . . . and Lisa. They were our best friends. I’m really going to miss them.”
“Can we just focus on getting married for now? We can figure out how we’re going to survive the Great Tribulation tomorrow. Unless . . .” Courtney’s voice cracked as she dropped her head.
“What?” Everett turned his focus on her. “No! Courtney, that’s the one thing I’m sure about. You’re the only person I have left in the world. Of course I want to marry you. Yes, we’ll focus on getting married today, and worry about everything else tomorrow.” He pulled her close and held her tightly.
She sobbed. “I know they are in a much better place, and I know we’re about to go through hell, but I miss Lisa so bad. It’s like she just died.”
“I feel the same way.” Everett stroked her hair as she leaned on him and cried.
After a few minutes of standing by the door with Everett and weeping, Courtney took a deep breath, dried her eyes, and walked toward the back bedroom that had been Ken and Lisa’s room. She walked in and sat down on the bed.
Everett followed and sat next to her.
She picked up Lisa’s Bible that Elijah had given her. Courtney flipped through the pages. “I wonder where we should start.”
“Revelation. That’s where Jones found most of the information about the last days.”
Courtney paged through from front to back. “Do you think Ken and Lisa are sitting up there with John Jones right now?”
Everett chuckled at the thought. “Yeah, probably laughing at how hard-headed we were.”
“I don’t see it. I’m almost to the end.” She kept thumbing through, a few pa
ges at a time.
“Does it have a table of contents?”
Courtney shrugged as she kept flipping. “Ah, here it is. All the way in the back.”
“I guess that makes sense, if it’s about the end times. I thought we were going to focus on getting married. Unless . . .” Everett bit his lower lip.
“Stop it, Everett. You know I love you.” She shot him a playful look with a slight grin, and then went back to looking over the pages of the Bible. “I would have married you the night we met.”
“Really? I was so sure I’d blown my chances that night with my smart-alecky comment. I thought you’d never go out with me.”
“That’s what you were supposed to think.” Courtney continued scanning the pages.
Everett reclined on the bed. “Ouch.” He turned over to find out what had scratched his arm. “Oh, it’s Lisa’s ring.”
Courtney turned to look. “Can I see it?”
Everett handed it to her.
“It fits.” She slipped the small diamond ring on her finger, and then pulled it back off. “Do you want to give it to me again?”
Everett took the ring as Courtney handed it to him. “Are you sure you don’t mind having a hand-me-down engagement ring? You won’t feel weird about it?”
“It’s not like we can go to the mall and pick one out. Besides, Ken didn’t have anything to trade for the ring at the flea market. You gave him the coins, so technically, you paid for it. And it will always remind me of Lisa. It won’t creep me out.”
Everett knelt beside the bed and took her hand as he slid the ring back on her finger. “Courtney Hayes, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Everett Carroll, I will.” She pulled him up from the floor and kissed him, lying back on the bed.
Seconds later, Everett pulled away. “Let’s go get married and come right back.”
“Okay, good idea.” She gave him one more kiss. “I’ll go get ready. I’m going to need about an hour. I want to be really pretty for you.”
Everett smiled. “Okay, that’s reasonable. I can wait.”
“Great, get your clothes out of the loft and get dressed down here. You can’t see me until I’m ready.”
“Sure thing.” Everett climbed up the ladder to the loft and retrieved the best clothes he’d brought out to the cabin. He took his slacks, shirt, belt, and shoes downstairs. Everett hadn’t brought a tie or suit jacket out to the cabin, so he looked through Ken’s closet. He tried on Ken’s jacket. It was too big, but he figured he could get away with wearing it. Everett had been devoted to going to the gym each morning before work prior to the collapse, so he’d been in good shape. But like everyone in the post-crash world, he’d lost weight. Even if he had brought a jacket, it would likely fit him almost as loosely as Ken’s. He found a nice tie from Ken’s closet as well. Everett wouldn’t look perfect in the oversized coat, but he wanted to look as nice as possible.
Everett was ready in less than fifteen minutes. He had some time to kill. He retrieved Lisa’s Bible and brought it to the kitchen table. Everett had no idea where to start. Suddenly, a thought hit him. Obviously this stuff is all true after all. Maybe God would show me where to start. Everett looked up. “God, I’m new at this. If I’m going to get it all figured out, I’ll need a little help. I’d appreciate it if you would show me where to start.” Everett looked back down at the book in his hands. “Oh yeah, thanks. I mean, amen.” Everett closed the book and opened it to a random spot. He looked down. “The Gospel of John. Hmm, well, it is the beginning of a book. I suppose that could be a sign.”
As Everett began reading, the words came to life and he started to understand everything Lisa, Ken, John Jones, and even Elijah had been trying to tell him.
An hour later, Courtney called out as she descended the ladder. “I’m ready.”
Everett looked up from the Bible to see his bride-to-be standing by the ladder. She was stunning. Her white dress was shorter than anything you’d typically see even the attendants wearing at a wedding, much less the bride. But Everett didn’t care; she was gorgeous. And with her toned athletic form, she wore it well. His heartbeat quickened. “You’re beautiful.”
Courtney had her long blonde hair up in a braided bun and had spent more time than usual applying eye makeup, lipstick, and blush. Courtney looked down at her short dress then back up at him. “Thanks. I didn’t have much to choose from in the way of white dresses. I hope this isn’t offensive to Elijah.”
“I think he’s glad to see us doing the right thing. And you certainly won’t hear any complaints from me.” Everett stood and walked over to kiss her.
“No, no. You’ll have to wait. Besides, you’ll smudge my makeup.” She winked and slipped her heels on.
Everett tucked his holster in his pants and grabbed his Sig. “Then let’s get going. I’m not sure how long I can wait.”
Courtney grabbed her coat. “Would you mind getting my Mini 14 from upstairs? There’s a good chance we’ll see a deer on the way up the mountain.”
“And you’re going to gut a deer on your wedding day?”
She looked at him like he was mad. “No. Of course not.”
Everett needed no explanation. Obviously it wasn’t out of the question for him to gut a deer on his wedding day. She was right, times were tough and they couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity to take some game. Those occasions were becoming less and less frequent. Since the collapse, deer was the primary source of meat in the Appalachians, and they would soon be hunted to near extinction. Everett climbed the ladder, opened the safe, grabbed the Ruger and an extra magazine, locked the safe, and then hurried back down. He opened the front door. “After you.”
Courtney walked out onto the porch. “Kind of chilly for heels and a short dress.”
Everett locked the door. “But it’s sunny. March is just a few days off. Spring will be here before you know it.”
Courtney held his arm as she walked down the stairs to the car. “Look at us, running off to get married like we don’t have a care in the world. And on the day of the rapture. Right when the whole world is getting ready to come unglued.” She paused by the car and began to cry again.
Everett put the rifle in the back seat and held her close. “It’s going to be okay. Whatever comes, we’ll get through it. We managed to survive this long; now that we’ve got God’s help, I know we’ll make it.”
“And I miss Lisa so much right now. I wish she could be here, to be my maid of honor.” She looked up and dried her eyes. “Now look, I’ve ruined my makeup.”
Everett handed her a tissue from his pocket. “You’re still beautiful.”
She blotted around her eyes with the Kleenex. “You really believe God will get us through? What were you reading?”
“Um, John. And yes, I really believe.” He opened the car door for her.
She sat in the BMW. “Is it about the last days?”
“No.” Everett closed the door, walked around to the driver’s side and got in. “I actually prayed and asked God what to read.”
“And he told you to read John?”
“Not exactly. I just opened to that page. But it felt divinely inspired. It’s about Jesus. It gives me an idea of who he was . . . or is, rather. He’s nothing like the hippy I had pictured him to be in my mind. You’ll have to read it when we get home.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. I suppose getting to know him is probably more important than finding out which catastrophe is next, but I’m pretty curious. We need to get an idea of what’s coming so we can prepare for it. Which reminds me, I hate to spoil the mood by rushing through our wedding, but I would like to be home by five so we can hear what kind of garbage Luz and the pope have to tell us about the disappearances.”
“That makes sense. And I’d like to squeeze in something akin to a honeymoon. You look awfully cute in that little dress.”
She winked. “Oh, we’ll definitely make time for that.”
Minutes later, they pulled up to Elijah’s cabin,
got out of the car, and walked up to his porch. Everett knocked on the door. He turned to Courtney as he waited. “Are you excited?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes. Do I look like a raccoon with my runny mascara?”
He chuckled. “No, you look like the woman of my dreams.”
The weathered hinges of the door creaked as it opened. Elijah said, “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
Courtney tugged at the hem of her dress. “Sorry, are we interrupting? We can come back later.”
Elijah opened the door all the way and held out his hand. “No, no, don’t be silly. What could you possibly be interrupting? Come in, come inside. Let’s get the two of you hitched before someone gets cold feet. I’m always happy to accommodate the work of the Lord.”
Everett laughed. “Thank you, we appreciate it.” Elijah’s quirky mannerisms and lighthearted attitude quickly swept away any anxiety that might have been stirring in Everett’s stomach.
Elijah looked Courtney over. “And you look absolutely splendid. Is that Lisa’s ring?”
Courtney twirled the ring on her finger. “Yes, do you think she would mind?”
Elijah put a hand on each of Courtney’s shoulders. “I think she’d be glad you were putting it to good use. And I can assure you that she would be ecstatic that the two of you came to faith in our Messiah. Never once did she leave my home without asking that I pray for the two of you, for your eyes to be opened and your hearts to be filled with Yeshua’s love.”
Everett nodded as he rolled his eyes in contemplation. “I probably don’t know who that is.”
“It’s just the Hebrew name for Jesus. Most languages have variations on how a name is pronounced. John in English is Juan in Spanish, you know. Which reminds me, how did your reading go today?”
