Shaken

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  “No,” Vicki said. “Come with us.”

  Natalie ran a hand through her hair. “Not now. Are there others with you?”

  “They took the satellite truck, and we’re meeting them downriver.”

  “Good,” Natalie said, closing her eyes. “Okay, let me have a piece of your clothing.”

  Charlie took off a shoe and gave it to her.

  “Perfect. When you hear a shot, take off.”

  “Promise me you’ll get in touch,” Vicki said.

  Natalie smiled. “I still remember what you told me at the arena. I look at your Web site almost every day.” She grabbed the dog by the collar and hurried through the door.

  “What’s going to happen to Phoenix?” Charlie said.

  “He’ll be okay,” Vicki said. “Help me up.”

  Charlie put Vicki on his shoulders. Conrad leaned into the hole and grabbed her hand. It was a tight squeeze, but Conrad pulled her through. Next, Charlie handed Conrad the laptop. Charlie was bigger than Vicki, and it took two tries to get his shoulders through the small hole. Finally, Vicki grabbed one hand and Conrad grabbed the other, and Charlie squeezed through.

  The three lay flat on the ground, inches from the bottom of the truck. Steam rose from the nearby river. Morale Monitors and Peacekeepers brought equipment and supplies from the schoolhouse and stacked them outside.

  “What are they doing?” Charlie said.

  “They’re going to torch the place,” Conrad said. “Darrion and Shelly are bringing a boat I stashed upriver. When we see them—”

  “Not good,” Charlie interrupted. “There’s a bunch of those Morale guys down there.”

  Vicki craned her neck to see. She counted five uniformed people scanning the riverbank.

  Phoenix barked inside the schoolhouse. Vicki thought of Ryan Daley. He had asked her to care for Phoenix before he died. Ryan will understand, Vicki thought.

  Someone yelled from the back of the schoolhouse, and Morale Monitors along the river headed up the hill. Vicki watched the group walk directly toward their hiding place.

  A radio squawked. “I think we’ve found a grave up here,” someone said. Vicki recognized Natalie’s voice on the radio. “I have a tennis shoe here, directly behind the schoolhouse, right at the tree line. I’m going to follow their trail.”

  A shot rang out. Natalie came back on the radio, excited and out of breath. “They’re headed into the woods back toward the driveway! I need backup!”

  Morale Monitors sprinted past the truck. Conrad grabbed the laptop computer and crawled from under the vehicle. When the GC group was far enough away, the kids headed down the hill as quietly and as fast as they could.

  The logging road ended, and Mark stuck his head out the window to inspect the satellite truck. Mud was caked all over, and there were dents where the truck had scraped trees.

  Mark headed west on the partially graveled road. “We’ll hit a paved road not too far up and then it’s off to the bridge.”

  Melinda fiddled with the GC radio in the truck and tuned to the frequency the Morale Monitors were using. Suddenly, a female voice said she had located the kids and needed backup.

  “They’ve caught them!” Janie said.

  “Stay calm,” Mark said.

  “We should have gone back to help,” Melinda said.

  Mark slammed on the brakes and slid in the mud.

  A tree too big to drive over lay in the middle of the road.

  “We’ll have to turn back now,” Janie said.

  Carl quickly typed an incident report and gave it to his boss’s secretary. “Tell him I’m going over every inch of the wiring, and I’ll have a full report this afternoon.”

  The secretary glanced at the man’s office. “He’s been talking about you with someone in there,” she whispered.

  Carl tried not to show emotion. “I’m sure there’s plenty to talk about after the past couple of days. I’ll be in the control room if he needs me.”

  Carl hurried outside to the back of the building. He knelt and tried to peek into his boss’s office. The blinds were slightly open, but all he could see was the back of the man’s head. Carl heard two voices but couldn’t make out anything they were saying. He crawled on all fours a few more feet and popped his head up for a second. Sitting on the other side of the desk was the techie, Dave Kostek.

  Judd e-mailed congratulations to Vicki and asked where she was. He explained that all those staying at General Zimmerman’s house were preparing for the first day of the GC Gala on Monday.

  He sent the message and went back to his Internet search. Judd learned that in the past few weeks Leon Fortunato had visited each of the ten kingdoms to invite their leaders to the Gala in Jerusalem. Judd pulled up a video file of Leon in Africa before a vast, cheering crowd.

  “We have endured rough times and much loss of life,” Fortunato said. “But His Excellency is sparing no expense for an international festival like nothing ever seen before. Besides celebrating the halfway mark of the agreement with Israel, and I am so pleased he has given me permission to share this publicly with you, His Excellency is guaranteeing—you heard that right—guaranteeing an end to killer plagues. You ask how can he do this? The potentate is on record that if the two so-called witnesses at the Wailing Wall do not end their torment of Israel and the rest of the world, he will personally deal with them.”

  The words gave Judd goose bumps. He knew from Tsion Ben-Judah’s writings that Eli and Moishe would be killed. Lionel believed that would happen in the next few days, but Carpathia had threatened them before, and the two had made a fool of him.

  Judd pulled up other reports. In the various capital cities, Leon promised better services from the Global Community. “Within a decade, the only memory of the population loss will be sadness for those who have died.”

  “Fortunato is doing a PR campaign for Carpathia,” Lionel said as he watched over Judd’s shoulder.

  When Fortunato kissed babies and held them high, Lionel walked out of the room. “I can’t take any more.”

  Judd found the schedule of events from the Global Community’s own Web site. Monday was the opening of the celebration, the anniversary of the peace treaty Nicolae Carpathia had made with Israel. Tuesday’s main event was a party at the Temple Mount. Other lesser events were scheduled throughout the week, and then Friday was the closing ceremony.

  Judd sat back and closed his eyes. Mr. Stein had taken them by the huge stage Carpathia would use, praying as they walked. He asked God to “let the truth be revealed even in the midst of a great, sinful gathering.”

  Judd thought of the vow his friend Kasim had made. Kasim planned to assassinate Carpathia on the first night of the Gala, and Judd knew he had to stop him.

  Vicki followed Conrad down the hill to the riverbank. Charlie was close behind. All three dived into a clump of bushes at the edge of the water and listened. Vicki gasped for air as they slid into the river.

  Conrad scanned the bank for any sign of Shelly and Darrion.

  “Will there be enough room for all of us?” Vicki whispered.

  “We’ll make room. First, we have to find them.”

  Conrad waded a few feet out into the river and waved. Shelly and Darrion waded toward them pushing the boat, staying low in the water. When they arrived, Shelly gave Conrad a hug and whispered something in his ear.

  “Hurry,” Conrad said. “Natalie can’t stall much longer.”

  “Who’s Natalie?” Darrion said.

  “We’ll tell you later,” Conrad said. “Charlie, you push the back; I’ll pull the front. Everybody else in the boat and lie down.”

  Vicki shivered as she climbed in with Shelly and Darrion. Charlie and Conrad guided the boat downriver until they came to a curve. Then the two boys got in and pushed away from the bank.

  “Nobody talk,” Conrad whispered as the current took the boat.

  Everyone had muddy shoes and wet clothes, but they were glad to be away from the GC. Vicki stole a gla
nce behind them and saw the bell tower of the schoolhouse over the trees. She imagined what it was like to be a runaway slave, following the river to find another safe house and people who would help. Then it hit her. They were runaways, hiding from people who hated their message. A few minutes later smoke rose through the trees, and Vicki heard the crackle of fire.

  Conrad and Charlie kept the boat moving with quick strokes of the oars.

  Vicki noticed the current getting faster and the water choppier. “How much further to the bridge?” she whispered.

  Conrad shook his head. “It took a couple of hours to walk. I’m not sure how long it will take in the water.”

  “So we’re not far away?” Darrion said.

  Conrad sighed and pointed ahead. “We’re coming up on some rough water. If we make it through that, we’ll be okay.”

  Vicki sat up and strained to see. Ahead the water slapped against jagged rocks.

  Mark and the others tried to move the log, but it was too heavy. Finally, Janie found a chain inside a tool compartment, and Mark attached it to the front bumper. After a few minutes, they pulled the tree back far enough to get the truck around.

  Mark listened for reports on the GC radio. A girl broke the silence. “This is Bishop. I’ve lost them.”

  Another Morale Monitor broke in. “The house is on fire and nobody’s coming out. But we did find the snake from the satellite truck and tire tracks by an old road on the west side of the hideout.”

  A GC Peacekeeper barked orders and names. “Follow them in the four-wheel drive.”

  Mark stopped as they neared a paved road. A couple of cars passed before he turned left and picked up speed.

  “We’ve got a good head start,” Janie said.

  Mark looked in the side mirror and frowned. “Yeah, but all that mud we picked up is leaving a trail. If Vicki and the others made it to the river, we have to hope they’re waiting for us at the bridge.”

  Carl threw a few of his things in a small computer bag, grabbed his laptop, and walked toward the front gate of the GC Communications compound. He signed a Jeep out at the guard desk and said he was following a lead on the Judah-ites.

  The guard saluted and handed him the keys. As Carl drove away, he wondered how long it would take for the GC to realize he was their man.

  28

  VICKI grabbed the boat and held on. She had never been white-water rafting. That was something rich kids did with their families. But Vicki had been on her share of roller coasters, and this felt even scarier. No seat belt. No life jacket. She couldn’t even scream.

  As they drew close to the rough water, Conrad wedged the laptop under one of the seats, and Charlie steered the boat to the middle of the river.

  “Stay calm,” Conrad said.

  Darrion glanced at Vicki. “Are we going to make it?”

  Vicki patted her on the back. “Just wait. We’ll be at the bridge in no time.”

  “Brace yourselves,” Conrad said.

  The boat plunged over the first rocks. Conrad worked the oar furiously, but he couldn’t keep the boat from turning. Charlie put out his oar, grabbed a rock, and held it there until the front came around.

  Vicki tried to see what was coming next. The wrath of the Lamb earthquake had changed the direction and speed of the river. The farther they went, the more rocks jutted out of the water. In several places whole groves of trees had fallen into the river and created an underwater forest.

  The boat rocked from side to side as they continued. “Worst part is coming up,” Conrad said. “We get through this, we’re home free.”

  Vicki closed her eyes as the water roared around them. She had heard the same sound the day Mrs. Jenness, the principal of Nicolae High, had died.

  Mark drove the satellite truck as fast as he dared. He heard the driver of the GC Jeep radio that they had reached the end of the logging road.

  “How could they have done it that fast?” Janie said.

  “They can go twice as fast as we can,” Mark said. “If Vicki and the others are waiting, we’ll probably have to ditch this truck.”

  Carl drove like a madman through the Florida back-country. He headed north, hoping to hook up with the underground church in South Carolina, but he had no way of telling them he was coming. He had to connect with the kids in Illinois so they could get a message to Luke and Tom Gowin, who lived near Beaufort, South Carolina.

  The radio crackled, and Carl’s boss spoke without much emotion. Carl knew the man had to be furious. “Carl, I know you’re listening. I’ve had a long talk with a worker who explained what he found in the control room. We’ve found the wiring and know how you did it. I have to admit, I don’t know why. It’ll go a lot better for you if you turn around and head back in.”

  Carl took a deep breath and held his tongue.

  “I’m giving you this one chance before we send the troops out with roadblocks. You know we’ll catch you. If you give yourself up now, I’ll put in a good word.”

  You’ll be part of the firing squad at my execution, Carl thought.

  “You’ve been under a lot of pressure. Maybe you just went nuts and decided to help these people.”

  The only people who are nuts are people who believe Carpathia is God.

  “Why did you do it, Carl? You owe your life to the Global Community. You were one of our best and brightest, and you threw your career away.”

  I helped a lot of people know God.

  “Carl, you’d better talk now, or I’m going to assume the worst. We’ve heard about your friends in Illinois. The net’s closing. We’ll have them before nightfall. If we have to hunt you down, well, you know things won’t go well for you.”

  There was a long pause. “Maybe you would agree to go undercover and ferret these people out? We can work a deal.”

  Carl couldn’t stand it any longer. He grabbed the microphone and pushed the button. “I’ll never go undercover for the GC. You guys buy all of Carpathia’s lies. I used to believe them too, but now I know the truth. Jesus Christ is the true potentate. I’m following him, and if you’re smart, you’ll ask God to forgive you.”

  Carl let the microphone go and scowled. “Stupid,” he muttered. “They wanted you to talk so they could figure out your location.”

  He pulled out a detailed map kept in each of the GC vehicles and studied the roads. The GC might know where he was, but they didn’t know where he was going.

  Vicki knelt as they pitched forward. Rocks scraped the boat with a sickening creak. Twice, she thought a hole had opened and they were going to sink, but each time the boat bounced back. They were headed for a huge drop the boat would never survive. But would the kids?

  “Go right!” Conrad shouted.

  Charlie put the oar on the wrong side and Conrad yelled again. They were fifty yards from the final drop when Conrad signaled for Charlie to row for the bank. “Too steep!”

  Charlie rowed desperately, trying to get the kids to the riverbank. Vicki thought about jumping over the side, but the water was too deep and the river too swift.

  Charlie and Conrad fought a losing battle. No sooner did they have the boat pointed toward shore than the current swept the back of the boat toward the fall. The boat spun out of control. Vicki grabbed hands with Shelly and Darrion.

  Conrad yelled, “Hang on!”

  The boat plunged over the rocky fall backwards. Charlie’s oar wedged between two rocks and snapped. The boat crashed against one rock, splintering the side. Then they spun around in the swift-moving current and crashed into a huge boulder, flinging the kids into a pool of water at the bottom.

  Vicki bobbed to the surface and gasped. The boat stood upright, lodged between two rocks. Water cascaded around the edges. Vicki turned and spotted Shelly and Darrion swimming for shore.

  “Where’s Charlie and Conrad?” Vicki yelled.

  Shelly turned. “Darrion’s hurt. I’m getting her out.”

  Vicki frantically searched for the two boys. Finally, Charlie surfaced a
nd gasped. “Help me!”

  Vicki swam to him. Charlie beat at the water like a child first learning to swim. When Vicki came close enough, Charlie grabbed her around the neck and nearly pulled her under.

  Charlie spit out a mouthful of water. “I don’t swim too good!”

  “Relax,” Vicki said, tearing Charlie’s arms away. “Let me hold you and I’ll get you to shore.”

  Charlie went limp, and Vicki dragged him to the riverbank. When he could safely stand, he coughed and collapsed next to Darrion and Shelly.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you couldn’t swim?” Vicki said.

  “I didn’t want to be a wimp. And I didn’t plan on going over Niagara Falls.”

  Darrion had a bloody gash on her forehead. “I hit one of those little rocks as I went in the water. I’ll be okay.”

  Shelly stood and screamed for Conrad. Vicki put a hand on her arm.

  “Look over there,” Charlie said, pointing.

  Conrad was making his way back up the rocks to the boat. It stood like a wooden soldier, trapped between the rocks.

  “What’s he doing?” Shelly said. “He’s going to get killed.”

  Conrad fought the rushing water and disappeared behind the boat. Moments later he reappeared holding something under his arm. When he got in the water, he held it above his head with one hand and swam with the other.

  “It’s the laptop,” Charlie said.

  The kids were all amazed that the machine had survived the crash. When Conrad pulled himself out of the water, Shelly ran to him and slugged his shoulder. “You scared me to death! You risked your life to save a computer?”

  “Calm down. I’m okay,” Conrad said. He checked Darrion’s wound and made sure everyone was all right. “I’m sorry about the waterfall. It didn’t look that bad when I walked by here a few weeks ago.”

  The kids rested a few minutes; then Vicki helped Darrion stand. Vicki could tell she was in a lot of pain. “I wish I had some aspirin,” she said.

  “There’s some in the sat truck’s first-aid kit,” Shelly said. “Let’s go.”