by Justin Price
“Okay”, he said hesitantly.
“Hey, your dad is right”, said Javier. “You have a direct line to God called prayer. Whenever you start feeling scared or worried, then just talk to him. He will give you peace and keep you safe.”
Joanna’s heart ached for her son. She was so thankful and blessed to have her son, but for his sake she wondered if it would have been best to be without a child. There was nothing more difficult than seeing him so frightened. ‘Of all the times for us to live and raise children, it had to be in this one’, she thought. ‘What are we supposed to do?’
It wasn’t that she didn’t have faith. She just knew that being a believer wouldn’t necessarily always protect them from bad things. She had seen too many families split up, imprisoned, and killed in the name of world peace and unity. They were part of the divergent group that presented a perceived danger to the world.
She was scared to death that someone would find them and take her boy. He was young enough that they would put him in a government facility and try to brainwash him. They would try to make him forget everything about his previous life. She knew that her son believed; even had more belief in God than she did, but a young mind can be impressionable.
There were so many possibilities and none of them were appealing. In fact, all of them were terrifying to her. ‘I’m just thankful that we haven’t had time to stop and think about everything yet’, she thought. ‘The thought that we will never live a normal life is depressing. Literally the only thing that we have to look forward to is the return of Jesus in around seven years. At least that’s what they tell me.’
“Honey, are we ready?” asked Noah; snapping her out of her thoughts of despair.
“Yes. I think we are ready to go”, she said.
“Alright then. Let’s move now”, said Javier.
The four of them walked out carrying the last of the belongings that they could bring with them and stuffed them into the trunk of the car. They got in and sped away; heading toward Joshua Tree National Park in California.
“I really hope that we get there in time to meet up with everyone and get a game plan”, said Noah.
“Oh, I can’t imagine them leaving that quickly”, said Javier. “They will wait for as many people as they can and then they will probably have to pray, present locations, and take a vote on where they need to go. The usual church business”, he said smiling.
The humor was lost on Noah and Joanna so Javier got really serious again. “Yea, I think we are good. We’ll make it.”
There was so much to think about and reflect on. It had been nonstop running from authorities for Noah, Joanna, and Ryan for the past week. They just sat there in silence for the majority of the three and a half hour drive, thinking about what they had been through and what was to come.
After what seemed like forever, they pulled up to Joshua Tree National Park and continued to drive until they reached the Sheephole Valley Wilderness Area. It was there on the edge of that territory that they were to meet the remaining believers.
As they drove with the sunset to their backs, they could see pillars of smoke on the horizon. Noah hoped that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the closer they got the more it became evident that something terrible had happened. They all felt physically sick from the site that they drove up to as they wondered if they were in the crosshairs of the enemy.
CHAPTER 10
Abbie was as nervous as she had ever been as she sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. She was just five minutes early for her appointment, but she had been waiting there fidgeting for fifteen minutes; waiting for Charles to show up.
So many thoughts rushed through her mind like a tidal wave. ‘Is he going to show up?’ and ‘With everything as advanced as it is, why are they still always behind at the doctor’s office?’
“Abbie Clark”. The nurse called her name and she jumped out of her chair and walked toward the short lady waiting in the hall.
“Abbie, please come with me. This won’t take long”, she said.
“Okay. I think you should know that Charles isn’t here. It’s just me it looks like. Could I do my part and have him come in later?”
“Actually”, the nurse said, “he already came in and gave his DNA sample. It should only take us about five minutes to get the results back.”
The nurse swabbed her mouth and took the sample to the next room. ‘Thank God it’s only going to be five minutes’, Abbie thought. She sat in the chair at the corner of the room waiting as patiently as she could.
After the five minute mark, she began to get impatient. Every second was excruciating; only increasing her fears that she wasn’t a match with Charles. ‘What if he isn’t my father? Who is?’ she thought as she fought tears back.
Finally, after about ten minutes, the nurse came back in with the results. The electronic tablet that she carried held the answer that she had been waiting for.
“Alright! So are we ready for the results?” the nurse asked.
“Yea...” she said nervously. “I’m ready.”
“Great. Here we go. It had been determined with one-hundred percent certainty that Charles is…”
Meanwhile, Charles sat in his office at home; thinking about what this could mean for him and his family. Even though his wife was gone, it would certainly be shocking news to his two daughters to find out that they had a half-sister all this time. He had been increasingly turning to alcohol since the incident in which he thought he talked to his deceased wife in the portal. Now with this situation arising, it only pushed him further over the edge.
Charles had always had a pretty sound mind, but there was only so much that he could take before he broke. He wasn’t sure exactly where that point was; but he was certain that he was either very close to it or he had unknowingly crossed it.
“Another drink please”, he said. The robotic artificial intelligence answered, “Yes sir”, as he scanned Charles. “Sir, I must warn you that your blood alcohol levels are becoming too high to operate any heavy machinery…up to and including automobiles.”
“I don’t care. Just do it. Then, go check on the girls. Make sure they are finishing their lessons.”
He grabbed the drink out of the robot’s shiny chrome hand and sunk back into the chair. Between Assad taking over the government, which included his government funded work and everything else going on, he wondered if he should be seeking help.
‘Where does one go for help like this?’ he thought. ‘They would commit me to a mental hospital. What do I tell them? My new boss is some kind of alien or angel? I talked to my dead wife? That would qualify as psychotic behavior.’
Through everything that had happened, there had been something, or someone, pulling at the depths of his soul. He felt very strongly that Assad had lied to them during their meeting in Syria. He twisted things around to make himself look like the savior of humanity that would swoop in and save them from a tyrant God who never really cared for his creation.
‘I think it’s the other way around though’, he thought. ‘What if all of the old stories about this Jesus was true? What if this man was here to try to dissuade people from the truth? He was willing to kill people who disagreed with him after all.’
‘Something definitely wasn’t right about those creatures that came from the portal’, he thought. ‘What if we opened a portal to hell? No…no…that’s absurd. But, is it really any more absurd than this guy being the Messiah, or even an alien threat?’
Charles got up and paced back and forth; questioning everything that he had seen or heard over the past couple of weeks. ‘I need to know what is true and what is false’, he thought. ‘What is reality and what is an illusion’.
Despite the impairment, his mind was traveling at full speed; attempting to connect all the dots. ‘I have to test the theory that Assad is who he says he is. I know there are old prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. I will know by his background whether he matches the description or not�
��.
“Computer, pull up the Torah.”
“Access denied. You are unauthorized to view this file”, said the computer.
“Why is the access denied to the file?” asked Charles.
“According to Section six, paragraph three of the World Council guidelines on religion; any religious book or literature cannot be electronically viewed or redistributed for any purpose.”
“Is there a way to override this?” he asked.
“The only way to have access to this information is to hack the system of the United States government.”
“Well, it looks like you and I are going to have a long night”, he said.
Charles started the process of trying to hack through the system. He had become one of the best in the nation of getting into secure systems undetected. He was just focusing in on his work when the phone rang.
“Answer”, he said. “Yes, who is it?” asked Charles.
“This is Dr. Buckman’s office. We have the results of the paternity test that was taken this morning.”
He sat back in his chair and sighed. “Alright…what’s the news?”
“Sir, the DNA test determined that you are…”
―――――
President Liam Cain stood in the Oval Office, nervously waiting for Speaker William Bernhart. They decided that the public request for secession from the World Council needed to happen before anyone else could catch wind of it. People needed to know that this was now a bipartisan effort before any of the pundits started weighing in.
They both knew that if anyone could cause discord among the citizens, it was the media. The machine drove everything that happened; much like it did in the century before. The major media outlets didn’t know why the press conference was being called at the White House rose garden, but they certainly couldn’t miss the chance of being there for a “big announcement” as the White House Press Secretary called it.
As Liam stood there fidgeting and watching the press show up in droves, he heard the door behind him open. Speaker Bernhart entered along with four Senators to the surprise of President Cain.
“I figured it would be a good idea to bring reinforcements”, said William. We need all the support that we can get. These are some of my most respected and tenured Senators and they just so happen to agree with us.”
“Well, imagine that”, said Liam smiling. “I am glad to have you all here today. I’m not going to lie…This is going to be very difficult. This will quite possibly be the most polarizing decision in history. Even more so than the decision I made a couple of weeks ago to join the World Council.”
After exchanging pleasantries, they all walked out and met secret service at the door. They were surrounded by agents, with a few more of them keeping watch behind the news outlets that were present. President Cain stood at the podium with Speaker Bernhart directly to his right. The Senators were in a neat line behind them; attempting to fake a smile.
The press secretary spoke briefly. “Members of the media, please be advised that we will allow them all to field questions afterwards, but it will be strictly at their discretion. Please remain silent until the President is finished. Thank you all for your cooperation.”
President Cain smiled and said, “Thank you”. He scanned the crowd of media there. Some of them were from the World Council’s media outlets. They helped to sell the mystique and peacefulness around Assad and the inner workings of the World Council. He wondered how they were going to react to this.
“My fellow Americans and citizens of the world; I called this press conference for reasons that are very important to the future of this nation. I am sure everyone is aware that I made the decision a couple of weeks ago to follow Congress in giving up our independence to join the greater good of the World Council. It took much thought and research to come to that decision and I want every American to know that I did not take it lightly. With that being said; I do want to make an announcement that will surprise many. Effective today, I am petitioning Samyaza al Assad and the other members of the World Council to allow us our sovereignty back. The decision I made was not in the best interests of this country and I am convinced that Assad and the World Council don’t have the best interests of the United States at heart. He has begun to perpetuate violence on the people among us who are different than most of society. He and the World Council have created a culture where all things are acceptable except for a belief in God or anything other than Assad and his mission. This should not be so. Before our very eyes, we are seeing the freedoms that were fought for in this country so many years ago just go by the wayside. The Constitution of the United States that was meant for our protection and guarantee of personal freedoms has been discarded like a piece of trash by the World Council and by many of our own politicians, including myself, before my change of heart. We are not alone in this way of thinking. Even though he is not here today, I do have permission from the Prime Minister of Britain to announce that they too are seceding from the World Council and regaining their sovereignty. It is true that this world needs peace, but not at the cost of personal freedom. That includes the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech. It is our hope that Samyaza al Assad will peacefully and graciously allow us to gain our sovereignty back as a nation. On behalf of everyone who is here with me today as well as those who are not here, but support this measure, we want to thank you for your understanding and support as we navigate this uncharted territory. As Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I have made a request that we be on high alert in both overseas and here at home until the issue is resolved. Thank you all. We will now take your questions.”
The press all clamored to get the first question in as Cain looked around for one of the easier news outlets that were a little more conservative. He pointed a journalist out and said, “Yes mam. What’s your question?”
“If Assad does not agree to this, is the United States really willing to go to war with the rest of the world?”
Cain leaned forward and looked her in the eye and said, “We are wanting a peaceful process, but we are certainly going to be prepared for anything that could happen and that includes the possibility of war.”
As soon as the words left the president’s mouth, an echoing boom was heard. The crowd got down and screamed as the President disappeared behind the podium. The Speaker and Senators all stayed low and ran back toward the White House. Secret Service agents were scurrying about, trying to find the source of the apparent gunshot. There was panic; complete pandemonium as people tried to get to safety.
In the distance, a sniper on the roof of the White House spotted the assailant. He lined the man up in his crosshairs and took the shot.
―――――
The bombing finally stopped over the believer’s base in New York. It probably only lasted twenty minutes, but it felt like hours to Maggie and the rest of those in the bunker. When it stopped, they were all relieved that the structure didn’t collapse and they were still alive. There was still a dark cloud looming over them however. They would all have to walk through a tunnel that led out of the base and met up in the old sewer system; a track that nobody was looking forward to.
Commander Murray stood up and addressed the people around him. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the clear at this time to begin our exit from base. I know that it goes without saying, but we are in a great amount of danger. We have been compromised here and there is no promise that the World Council forces aren’t right on our heels. There is an exit for us, but it is three miles of walking. The first mile will consist of crawling to an opening in the old sewer system.”
“Once we have exited, we will be out in the open and we could be sitting ducks. We all just need to pray for protection from this point and that we will arrive safely at our destination. We have old military Humvees and an assortment of passenger vans that we have had in storage for a time like this. We will be taking those, a few at a time, to the Appalachian mountains around the Tennessee and North Carolina bo
rder, where we have enough sympathizers that we can survive.”
He continued with tears welling up in his eyes. “We will be starting over when we arrive. The rules are the same just as they have been here. Love one another unconditionally and always think of one another above yourselves. Work with the skills and talents that God gave you for the good of the other members of the Body and always be in prayer for the needs of God’s people here and all over the world.”
With those words, the hatch was opened and he led the entire group through the small tunnel for a mile on their hands and knees. The dark, moist place had the smell of mold and mildew. It had never been used since it had been built years prior. They had hoped that it would never come to this.
Chaim could hear Maggie behind him, breathing deeply and trying to control her evident fear of enclosed spaces. She was figuring up in her head that at the speed they were going and the likelihood of breaks, it would take them at least an hour and a half to two hours to reach the sewer.
Chaim tried to break up the monotony and seriousness of the trip by saying, “oh boy, I wish I hadn’t eaten those beans earlier.”
She looked up at his backside and said, “Don’t even think about it buddy. The smell is bad enough without a cloud of gas hitting me in the face.”
He just laughed along with about half a dozen others who had heard the comment. They were all men of course. The ladies all thought he was gross.
As they crawled, Maggie’s mind became busy with thoughts about this group of believers. She noticed something very unusual about them. Most of the children that were with them were at least five or six years old and the number of them were few.
“Chaim, I have a question for you”, she said.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Well…I was thinking about everyone that I have seen down here. Why aren’t there any babies or young children? In fact, there aren’t many children of any age.”
“There is actually a good explanation for that”, said Chaim. “This community has existed for over ten years in its current state. Around the time that things were really starting to get bad here in the United States, our leaders called together an assembly and met concerning the possibility of this being the end times. They felt that every prophecy in the bible was pointing to us being in the final years before the return of Jesus. The climate for believers was disintegrating at a rapid pace here and we knew that it would only get worse for us. They suggested that everyone stop having children in order to save them from the terrible things that would happen on earth during the tribulation.”
