by Justin Price
David had struggled with having to kill, but he knew that it was war. There was nothing pretty about war. Nothing glamourous. There was a line…a difference between murder and war, but it made it no less disturbing for David, John, or any of the group. All of it had been in self-defense. They would never go out looking for trouble, but more than once, trouble had gone out looking for them.
“John…John…”
The soft voice of his wife slowly brought him out of his thoughts and back into reality. It was a reality that he would have never guessed he would be living now. On the run with his wife; being fugitives and staying with Christian rebels under the streets of New York in the old subway system.
“They are all wanting to know if you are willing to go out and be a part of the sending out service for David”, said Maggie.
John looked up at her, the bags under his eyes telling the story of his lack of sleep the past couple of days. This was not the kind of life that he wanted for his bride. He wondered if it would have just been best for him to have been killed in the war instead of escaping. She would have been a widow, but she wouldn’t have been counted as a criminal…an enemy of the state.
“I hate to go back out this soon after what happened. There are dead federal agents in our home. They will be on high alert all over the area, but I also feel that I owe David a proper send off for a veteran. The best we can under our circumstances at least…”
“I understand John. The elders down here don’t want to pressure you into doing anything that you aren’t comfortable doing. I also have my apprehension. I feel like I had already lost you once. To lose you again would be more than I can bear.”
John stood up and embraced her, kissing her forehead. “It doesn’t really matter what I want to do, or what the people down here want. It doesn’t really even matter what David would have wanted. What really matters to me is what you want. Do you want me to stay behind here with you?”
Maggie looked her husband in the eyes for a moment. “No”, she said. “I want to go up there with you.”
“Absolutely not”, John said without hesitation. “It’s too dangerous for you to go up there. You will be too recognizable. I am sure your face has been all over the place since you are an escaped prisoner. Not only that, you are the wife of one of the most wanted men in the world.”
“If you are going then I am going. We are in this together John. For better or for worse”, said Maggie.
“Then I’m not going.”
“Listen…I didn’t know your friend. But, I do know that if it wasn’t for him that we would probably never see each other again. I feel like I should also be paying my final respects by your side.”
“Maggie, you are so stubborn. Just as much as ever.” He looked at her for a minute with his arms crossed. “Okay, fine. Under one condition. If you go, then I want you to change your appearance and watch from a distance. You can’t allow yourself to be arrested or killed. We need to be very careful.”
“Fair enough Mr. Robertson”, Maggie said playfully.
“I’ll take my decision to the elders so that they know what the plan is. In the meantime, find the stylist down here that can make you look like a different woman. Her name is Janelle.”
“You’ve got it babe. I’m so glad to be home”, said Maggie.
“We aren’t home.”
“I am. Home to me is wherever you are. I never feel safer than when I am with you.”
John only hoped that he could live up to that ideal.
―――――
Noah, Joanna, and Ryan Vasquez all sat on the couch across from Javier Fernandez, waiting with the greatest sense of expectancy that they had ever felt, for what the truth about God was. It was the truth about everything.
Javier began reading the account of creation. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…” The three of them listened intently to the first words that they had ever heard from the nearly extinct bible. After wrapping up with the fall of man through sin, Javier paused.
“I just want to make sure that I am understanding this correctly so far”, said Noah. “God gave mankind dominion over the earth, and he relinquished it to the devil?”
“That’s right”, said Javier.
“Can’t God just take control over it again? What is His plan?” asked Joanna.
“The plan…” Javier said smiling, “is that God came in the form of a man to regain control and give dominion back to mankind. Not just mankind, but those who have become His children through faith.”
“Faith in what?” asked Noah.
“Good question. Let me go to the rest of the story here and explain in short what God’s plan is. He flipped to John 1:1 and began to expound on the nature of God in the beginning and His ultimate plan and purpose for redemption of the human race.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made…”
As Javier continued to tell the story of Jesus and all that He did, it was evident on the family’s faces that they were getting it. “God had set the rules and He still played by His own rules then? He had to come here as a man because it was only a man who could gain back what Adam had lost?” asked Noah.
“That’s correct. You’ve got it bro”, said Javier.
“What do we do now?” asked Joanna. “I believe this to be the truth.”
Javier grinned and said, “You are half way there already sister. There aren’t any works that you can do to earn your way into God’s good graces. That was already done when Jesus took your sins upon Himself to the cross and rose from the dead, showing that He was God and that death was defeated forever.”
“So, we just have to believe it and it’s a done deal?” asked Noah.
“Believe it in your heart and then confess what you believe with your mouth” said Javier. “Your words are powerful. More powerful than you know right now.”
Noah had tears streaming down his face, completely in awe of the amazing love of God for His people. “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for me so that I could be made perfect in the eyes of God. I believe that He was raised from the dead and defeated death to give us eternal life with Him…and I believe that He is going to come again to reign as King forever.”
Joanna and Ryan confessed the same and the four of them embraced in the middle of the room. Tears flowed freely. Tears of joy and peace. They finally knew the truth that had so long eluded them. It was a treasure in a bleak world where nothing else seemed to make sense anymore. As they embraced, the entire apartment seemed to be permeated with a white light. They all pulled away and sat on the couch, shielding their eyes enough to see the figure in the middle of the light.
Noah sunk to his knees and bowed low to the ground. “Are you God?” he asked.
“I am not. Do not worship me or fear me. I am only a faint reflection of our Creator. I come as one of His messengers. There is much celebration in heaven over the salvation of this wonderful family. We welcome you to the family of God”, the angel said smiling.
“Are you Gabriel?” asked Javier with quivering lips.
“I am of his kind”, said the angel. “I am not important in this moment, but the message that I have to give is of the essence for I have battled in the heavens for days to bring this warning to you. The fallen angel who is over the west coast withstood me until a strong angel of war aided me.”
“What warning?” asked Javier.
“The government has nearly located your fellow believer’s position. They plan to ambush and kill all of them in the middle of the night.”
“How long do we have?” asked Javier.
“The hour of their visit will be this very night.”
With those words, the angel disappeared before their eyes. The room became dim again and it took a minute for their eyes to adjust. Javier looked troubled at the news.
&nbs
p; “Your fellow believers?” asked Noah. “Who was he talking about?”
“The band of rebels that have set up here on the west coast. There are thousands of us, but the majority just miles away in Los Angeles. We’ve got to get to them and evacuate before the government finds them.”
“We are going with you!” said Joanna.
“No… that’s out of the question. Not happening sister. You’ve narrowly escaped capture twice already. You and the kid stay here and lay low.”
Noah piped up and said, “I am going. You need someone to help cover you. Besides, I want to meet these rebels. I’ve only heard of them in the context of them being terrorists. I want to know what they are really like.”
“Okay…okay. That’s fine. Let’s go. I am afraid to even call them. They could intercept the call and that would be bad…really bad man.”
“I can’t say anymore right now. They could be listening. Let’s get going.”
Noah hugged his wife and son and the two men walked out to the car to head to Los Angeles. The two continued to talk about all that was happening in the world and what it meant for them now as new believers.
About an hour later, the two men pulled into the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. It had been a rough part of town for several decades until North Korea invaded the coast in 2092. The first war in 230 years to be fought on U.S. soil lasted for three years until North Korea fell to the United States and her allies. Downtown Los Angeles had sustained heavy damage during the war, even being subjected to radioactive fallout. The city was never the same, and this portion of it was nearly deserted. It would become the perfect hideout for the rebel group of Christians on the west coast.
The former Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, which had been turned into an entertainment hall was the home of the rebels. It was completely boarded up and looked condemned from the outside, but inside of the building lived over a thousand believers. They had been left alone for a long time until the new surveillance technology ordered by Assad had been installed. They were now in immediate danger.
“We need to stay low and be on the lookout for government vehicles”, said Javier. “Just because we have until later tonight doesn’t mean that they don’t already have reconnaissance watching the place.”
The two men parked about a block away from the building and walked slowly and quietly to the backside of the building. Every entrance appeared to be securely boarded up and locked. Noah couldn’t figure out where they could possible get in.
“Is this it?” he asked.
“Yea. This is it. Come check it out.” The two of them stood on a large manhole on the street outside. Javier knelt down and motioned for Noah to do the same. He placed his finger on the side of the manhole where a red laser flashed back and forth quickly to read his fingerprint. He said his name, “Javier Fernandez” for voice recognition. Within three seconds, the manhole lowered down about fifteen feet until it settled into a corridor.
The two of them stepped off and the platform quickly ascended back to the surface. A large steel door stood in front of them. Javier entered a seven number combination and the door automatically opened to reveal the entry into the underground barracks that led to the basement of the old building. Two armed guards stood on either side and greeted Javier as they walked through. They did a quick search of Noah to make sure that he was not armed and the men continued.
They walked through the cavernous area until they reached another door. “You will need to wait here for a few minutes Noah. Is that cool.”
“Sure, whatever you need me to do”, said Noah.
Javier walked up to the door and opened a small compartment to reveal what looked like a tiny camera. It was a retinal scanner. After verifying his identity, the door opened and he walked into the control room where the leaders of the west coast rebels resided most hours of the day.
He walked straight over to a man in a slick gray uniform who was talking to an officer. The commander was one of the highest ranking officials among the believers in Los Angeles. He was in his mid-fifties with short gray hair. He was just a smidge under six feet tall, but he stood straight with his shoulders square and his chest out. He had been a career military man for the U.S. Army for years until he became a follower of Christ.
Commander Joshua Ramsey had been one of the dozens to flee the government, establishing believer camps throughout the west coast with his connections and resources. Years of experience served him well in surviving and adapting to the new reality; teaching others to do so as well.
“Commander Ramsey. I am sorry to interrupt you, but I have a very pressing matter that you need to be aware of. We don’t have much time.”
CHAPTER 4
Abbie looked out of the first class window of a 747 making its descent into JFK International Airport in New York. It would be her first show as a signed artist with Moonshine Records, opening for megastar Savannah Lynn as part of her latest tour. Jenson Moon had done exactly what he had promised and put her on the fast track to success. She would finish recording her debut album during a short break in a few weeks and it would be released within a few months. Right now…she was just going to enjoy being on the road and getting her music out there so that her album would be a success upon release.
She stared at the bright lights of New York City in the distance, reflecting on the past few weeks. It had been a whirlwind to say the least. She could have never imagined even half of what had transpired, and yet here she was. A Christian who was going on tour with the biggest country star in the world. Losing her best friend had changed her in many ways, but finding Christ had changed her in many more ways. All Abbie could do was wonder what God had in store for her in this new level in the entertainment industry.
They would be opening the tour in New York with a two nights at the newly renovated Madison Square Garden. She was hoping that this would give her enough time to meet up with her dad. She had tried to call his office a couple of times, but he had been on a business trip to Syria. She could only imagine what it could be for and who he was talking to.
Abbie knew that Samyaza al Assad was not the type of individual that she wanted to be running the world, and certainly not trying to sway her father. She had a burden for him; to see him come to know Christ. Everything about Assad, including his new insistence on being the savior of the world, seemed to be very anti-Jesus. His desire to be an object of adoration and worship flew in the face of everything that Jesus had been about.
She was quickly jolted out of her daydreaming by the plane shaking violently. The pilot came over the speaker system to let everyone know that it was only some routine turbulence. Abbie’s racing heart began to calm down and she laid her head back on the seat and looked out the window again.
As she was gazing out into the night, she thought she saw what looked like a very large bird of some kind just above the wing. There were wings flapping, but it was hard for her to make out the full form. Her curiosity continued to grow as the creature moved in closer to her window. For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming or maybe her eyes were deceiving her. After all, she had been going on very little sleep.
Abbie rubbed her eyes and looked back out the window to see the form of a man with wings flying straight ahead with the plane, but moving to the left toward her window. Her curiosity soon became horror as it turned its head to reveal hollow eyes as black as coal and pale white skin. She couldn’t tell if they were eyes or just empty sockets.
Just as she was about to close the window shade when the creature flashed a sinister grin and broke off from the plane. As he went down below, he joined five others like him and they spread out and went into the city. Abbie was very disturbed with this event and she wondered what they were and why they were going into the city. Even though she didn’t know what they were, she could sense that they were evil. Just seeing its face put a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The plane touched down on the runway and came to a full stop within seconds. A few minut
es later, the passengers started exiting the plane. Abbie just sat in her seat, clutching the arm rests and wondering if that thing was coming for her. Fear rose up in her as she battled with her own thoughts and feelings. She wondered if she had become a target now for demons.
She sat there, trying to silence the thoughts that were racing through her mind. “I have given you all authority over the enemy.” She looked around, wondering who was talking to her. After it became apparent that there wasn’t anyone around her anymore, she realized that it was that same voice that had spoken to her before, telling her to sign the contract with Moonshine Records.
“What was that?” she whispered.
“Do not fear them. I have given all authority to you over the enemy. You have been sealed with the blood of the lamb and they cannot touch you. I have called you to destroy their works.”
“Yes, Father”, she said.
As soon as those words left her lips, she felt grateful that she could call someone father. She had never had that growing up and had longed for it as an adult. There was something safe about it. Her hope now was that she could salvage a relationship with her earthly father. She was a living testament that people can change. Hopefully, Charles Billingsley could accept the daughter that he had tried to ignore for years.
Abbie got up and grabbed her carry-on bag out of the overhead compartment. The only ones left on the plane were the flight attendants and pilot. She hustled down the aisle and the attendant and pilot put on a smile and said, “Thank you for flying with us Ms. Clark.”
She smiled and said, “It was a pleasure”. As she walked through the gate where the rest of her entourage was waiting, she couldn’t help but feel excited and humbled that people knew her name. Even though she had just been signed and gotten some publicity as a new artist, people knew that she was with Savannah Lynn and that she was on her way to fame and fortune very quickly.
