“But he’s had every chance in the world,” Darrion said. “From what Vicki said, he wants to be part of the club. He’s still trying to do things to earn the mark.”
Mark nodded. “But maybe he’s so close that . . .” He noticed someone at the kitchen door.
“I’ve been trying to figure it out myself,” Charlie said, walking inside. He sat slowly, a strange look on his face. “I know I deserve to get stung just like those two girls, but I didn’t.”
“Charlie, you’ve heard what Vicki and the rest of us have said about God,” Darrion said. “You know the truth, right?”
“I know that if I want to get a thing on my head, I have to pray that prayer.”
“Is that why you prayed?” Mark said.
Charlie looked away. “Vicki was nice to me. I wanted to be one of you guys. Nobody’s ever liked me because I’m kind of weird. And I know God doesn’t like me.”
“Wait,” Mark said, “the whole point is that God loves you. He cares about you.”
“He likes you if you do good things,” Charlie argued.
Mark moved closer. “We were just wondering if maybe God protected you because he knew you were close to really understanding and accepting his love.”
Charlie wrinkled his brow. “Why would he do that?”
“God loved you enough to die for you,” Darrion said. “Protecting you from those locusts is nothing compared to that.”
Charlie closed his eyes.
Mark looked at Darrion and Lenore and whispered, “Pray.”
Judd said good-bye to Mac and thanked him. “We’d never have made it here without you.”
“Be careful,” Mac said, “these buildings have ears. Call me if you need anything.”
The kids made their way through a series of doors designed to keep the locusts out. They found the elevators and Judd punched the right floor number. The building had an atrium with exotic flowers, plants, and a huge waterfall. The only thing missing was people. Judd figured they were either cocooned in their rooms or recuperating from their stings.
“I wouldn’t mind living like this,” Sam said.
“I’d rather live in a tent than work for Nicolae Carpathia,” Lionel said.
Judd put a finger to his lips. “Remember what Mac said about this place having ears?”
The three got off the elevator and looked for Pavel’s apartment. A door opened and a man in uniform stepped out, a hat pulled low across his face. “What are you doing out without proper protection?”
“We’re looking for a friend,” Judd said. “His name is Pavel.”
The man smiled and took off his hat. Judd sighed when he saw the mark of the true believer on his forehead.
“You must be Judd,” the man said, extending his hand. “I’m Pavel’s father, Anton Rudja.”
Judd introduced Lionel and Sam and they went inside. “Why didn’t Pavel tell me about his illness?” Judd said.
“You weren’t supposed to know,” Mr. Rudja said. “Pavel has the idea that he is going to be healed.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Lionel said.
Mr. Rudja whispered, “The doctors aren’t sure. The disease weakens his muscles and bone structure. There are other diseases like it, but nothing quite like what he’s going through.”
“Is he able to see us?” Judd said.
Mr. Rudja smiled. “When he can speak, it is all he talks about. He has to stay in bed almost all day now.”
Mr. Rudja explained how he had gained clearance from the Global Community for them to come to New Babylon. “My superior knows about Pavel and I told him he wanted his friend from the North American States to visit. Since he may not have much time . . .” Mr. Rudja looked away and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I promised him I would not be emotional about this.”
“We understand,” Judd said.
Lionel and Sam waited in the living room while Judd met with Pavel. The shades were drawn and the room was dark. Judd let his eyes focus and recognized the pictures on the wall and the furniture in the room. This was what he had seen every time Pavel hooked up with him via computer.
The boy slept, his head propped up with pillows. A piece of medical equipment stood like a soldier by the bed. It beeped every few seconds and lights blinked. Judd took the boy’s hand. No response. He knelt by the bed, still holding Pavel’s hand, and prayed.
“God, I thank you that you brought Pavel to yourself and that you used him to help his father know the truth. Please heal him and make him well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Pavel squeezed Judd’s hand weakly and smiled. “You made it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me how sick you are?” Judd said.
“Would it have changed anything?” Pavel said. “You are my friend. I knew you would come.”
“You’re right,” Judd said.
“I have good news,” Pavel said. “God is healing me.”
Vicki ran behind the others thinking about the danger Pete was in. The GC would surely catch him. What then? Would they throw him in prison?
The pastor of the group worked his way back and helped Vicki. “Watch your step as we go up the side of the mountain.”
The dirt path wound through trees and seemed to go straight up. People huffed and puffed as they climbed over rocks. Vicki was the last to make it to the top. The mouth of the cave could fit two people; then the passage opened into a huge cavern. Burnt wood lay in piles throughout the cave.
“This was our meeting place after the earthquake,” the pastor said. “The bowling alley was more convenient for everyone so we moved there.”
Shelly rushed back to Vicki, trembling. “I told them I didn’t like caves. Last time I was in one of these—”
Vicki put a hand on Shelly’s shoulder. “I know, the snakes. You’re going to be okay.”
The pastor called people together and prayed for Pete. Another prayed for Roger at the gas station.
Conrad whispered to Vicki, “The kid who led us up here says everybody’s desperate for more teaching.”
Vicki frowned. “There’s no way I’m going to get up in front of all these people.”
“You did it in South Carolina,” Shelly said.
“But there weren’t that many,” Vicki said.
“I told the pastor what you know,” Conrad said.
“You what?”
Before Conrad could respond the pastor said, “You all know how new to this I am. Well, we have someone with us who wants to encourage us.” He motioned to Vicki. Vicki looked around the crowded cave.
“Come on, girl,” someone said.
People clapped and the pastor called for quiet. “We don’t need to make the GC’s job any easier.” He turned to Vicki. “The floor’s yours, young lady.”
Mark tried to talk with Charlie, but the boy ran from the schoolhouse.
“You want me to go get him?” Darrion said.
Lenore said, “I think that boy is starting to understand. Leave him alone.”
An hour later, Mark found Charlie on the hillside near the grave of the other Morale Monitor, Felicia. His eyes were red. “I drank some of that poison water but I didn’t die. That bug thing flew near me but turned around and stung Melinda. Why?”
“I don’t know,” Mark said, “but I think it has something to do with God loving you.”
“What do you mean?”
“God wants you to be his child. He cares what happens to you.”
“I want to be his son,” Charlie said. “Before, I just wanted to be one of you guys.”
“In the Gospel of John it says that if you believe in him and accept him, he gives you the right to become a child of God.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Charlie said. “I’ve tried really hard to do what’s right so God and you guys would accept me.”
Mark got down on one knee. “That’s where you’ve made the mistake. You don’t do anything to get God to accept you. If you believe you’ve done bad things and ask God to forgive
you, he’ll come into your life and change you.”
Charlie opened his eyes wide. “So he’ll help me do things the way he wants me to do them?”
“Yes.”
“You’re saying if I want to be a child of God, I don’t have to do good stuff, I just believe that Jesus is God and ask him to change me?”
Mark nodded. “You want me to pray with you?”
Charlie shook his head. “No, I want to do this myself.” He closed his eyes. “God, I think I understand. Thank you for protecting me from those bugs and that poison water. I don’t just want that thing on my forehead. I want to be your kid.
“Forgive me for the bad stuff I’ve done. I believe you died for me and I believe you came alive again like Vicki said. Help me to do what you want me to do from now on. Amen.”
Mark smiled. Charlie looked around the hillside and took a deep breath. He turned to Mark. “I see it! On your forehead! It looks like a cross, doesn’t it?”
Charlie ran to the schoolhouse and found Lenore, then Darrion. Mark couldn’t wait to talk with Vicki and tell her the news.
Vicki felt nervous as she spoke, but the more she saw how eager people were, the more she relaxed. She explained how she had become a believer and what Pastor Bruce Barnes had taught her. “He showed us the truth of the Bible and he lived it in front of us. He even adopted me before he died.”
Vicki paused to compose herself. A few people whispered prayers. “I studied the Bible on my own and with friends, but I figured no one could ever take the place of Bruce. But not long after we lost Pastor Barnes, I met Tsion Ben-Judah.”
Someone gasped. “You actually met him?”
Vicki nodded. “And the things I learned from reading his messages and hearing him speak have changed my life. This gathering here is evidence that what he’s saying is true. We’re in the midst of a great soul harvest when millions will come to know God personally.”
A young man raised a hand. “What’s going to happen next?”
Vicki took a deep breath. She didn’t want to scare the people, but she knew the truth wouldn’t be easy to take.
16
JUDD introduced Lionel and Sam to Pavel.
Pavel was interested in Sam’s situation. “I know what it’s like to have a father who doesn’t believe. Don’t give up.”
The conversation turned to Nicolae Carpathia. Pavel glanced at a clock and said, “The television transmission I told you about is supposed to begin in about twenty minutes.”
“Where is Carpathia?” Lionel said.
“From what I’ve heard, he and his right-hand man, Leon Fortunato, are holed up in an underground bunker that keeps out the locusts.”
“Any idea how many top GC people have been stung?” Sam said.
“The ten kings, or rulers as Nicolae calls them, have all been stung. So has Peter the Second.”
“Serves him right,” Judd muttered.
“The GC news would never report this, but my father said two of Peter the Second’s staff were executed before the locusts came.”
Lionel gasped. “Executed? What happened?”
“They repeated something they heard in Peter’s office. Peter said the information was private and had them shot.”
Lionel shook his head. “Just what you want in a religious leader.”
“This will really make you sick,” Pavel said. “Nicolae sent Peter a note of congratulations.”
Judd sighed. “What do you expect from the most evil man on the planet?”
“The word’s out that Christian literature is everywhere,” Pavel said, “but no one knows how it’s being transported.”
“For Mac’s sake, let’s hope it stays that way,” Judd said.
“My father also said that there’s talk of requiring everyone to worship Nicolae. I hope I never live to see that. . . .” Pavel paused, realizing what he had just said.
“Come on,” Judd said, “let’s watch old Nicolae make a fool of himself.”
The kids gathered around to watch the live broadcast. Television producers had tried to spruce up the fallout shelter, putting up backdrops and arranging furniture. Nicolae appeared to be sitting in his office, the skyline of New Babylon behind him. But there was something strange about his voice.
“Sounds boomy,” Lionel said, “like he’s broadcasting from my basement.”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Global Community, I bring you greetings from the greatest city on the face of the earth, New Babylon.”
Nicolae turned as if he were looking out the window. As Carpathia continued, a locust flew onto his shoulder and landed. Judd moved closer to the TV to get a better look.
Nicolae gave several statistics about the positive things that had happened since he had taken over the world system. He assured viewers he was in control. Suddenly he stopped, as if he had just seen the locust on his shoulder. The locust leaned toward Nicolae’s ear.
Nicolae smiled. “Yes, I know we have heard reports about poisonous bites coming from these harmless creatures. While there may be some truth to those rumors, rest assured they are exaggerated.”
“It’s a trick,” Judd said. “That locust isn’t real; it’s computer generated.”
Nicolae turned to the locust. “Do you think a cute little fellow like this would harm anyone? Of course not. I urge all the followers of the Global Community to put aside fear. While these beings are new to our world, there is no reason to panic or hide.”
“And he’s saying this from an underground bunker,” Lionel said.
“In order to ease fears about the world economy,” Nicolae continued, “I am personally taking charge of global commerce.”
“What does that mean?” Sam said.
Pavel coughed and lay back on a pillow. “It means he can pay off his ten kings and keep them loyal.”
Carpathia put up a hand to pet the locust. The camera zoomed in on his face. Judd thought of people around the world who were falling for this trick. They had believed Nicolae wanted peace. They completely trusted the Global Community to fix their problems and take care of them. They were even buying the Global Community’s religion, which taught that everyone could have their own beliefs, except those who really wanted to know the God of the Bible.
“We must not let a few bugs steal our commitment to our new world,” Nicolae continued. “There will be those who will say this is a sign from the heavens. We are bad people who need to be punished.
“I ask you, what kind of god would punish people for trying to do the best they can? We have survived many disasters. It is time to put aside this silly talk and move ahead.
“We hold our own destiny in our hands. Our plans of peace and rebuilding will continue. We will unite. I have plans for good for all citizens, and I will not rest until they become a reality.”
The camera pulled back, showing the locust snuggling up to Carpathia’s neck. “Now does this look like any kind of judgment from an angry God? We must not allow anyone, especially those who claim to speak for God, to take away our dream of unity and peace.”
A telephone number and a Web site address flashed on the screen. “If you suspect someone you know may be working against the Global Community, please call this number or contact the Web site you see on your screen.
“And if you suspect someone you know follows the teachings of Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah, contact us immediately. Even now we are working on ways to rehabilitate those who see the Global Community as a threat.”
The scene faded to black and Nicolae’s voice echoed. “Do not let your hearts be troubled, my friends. Trust in me.”
Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about Pete. If the Peacekeepers had caught him, they would try to get information. That meant she might never see Pete alive again. She looked out over the faces of her audience.
“Do you need to take a break?” the pastor said.
Vicki nodded. The pastor handed her a bottle of water and showed her a place to sit. “What you’re saying is exactly what we need to he
ar,” the man said. “I’m not a real pastor. I just know more than the others. They all voted me the leader.” He extended a hand. “I’m Greg Sowers.”
“How did you figure out the truth?” Vicki said.
“I read Tsion’s Web site,” Greg said, “and I remember a lot from when I was a kid. My parents took me to church every time the doors were open. I won ribbons and buttons, knew all the verses. Memory stuff was easy for me. I could look at a verse once and say it right back to my Sunday school teacher.”
“So how’d you get left behind if you knew all of that?” Vicki said.
“Knowing verses about God doesn’t make you a believer in him,” Greg said. “I fooled a lot of people. I’d live one way at school and with my friends, then clean up my act on Sundays and Wednesday nights. I even married the preacher’s daughter.”
“You’re kidding,” Vicki said.
Greg shook his head. “I used to sit with her dad and talk about the Bible till late at night. I could really talk about God, but I didn’t know him.”
“How did your wife find out you weren’t a true Christian?”
“She never did,” Greg said. “I was such a good liar. I’d come home late without an excuse and blame her for being suspicious.”
“The truth never sank in?” Vicki said.
Greg put his head against the wall of the cave. “I sat through so many services. I even took notes. But it didn’t mean anything until that morning.”
“The morning after the disappearances?”
Greg nodded. “I told my wife I had to work overtime, but I was really out partying with some friends. I slipped into bed before sunrise and woke up late. Her nightclothes were in the bed beside me, but I didn’t think anything was wrong. Then I heard the news and realized she was gone.”
“That’s when you prayed?” Vicki said.
Greg shook his head. “I was mad at God. Cussed him out. Then I came to my senses. I didn’t have a choice. It was either ask God to forgive me or wind up following the devil’s guy.” Greg pointed to his forehead. “You can see what I chose.”
“I’m glad you did,” Vicki said.
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