Frantic

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  “Some in our world have the mistaken notion that we are wrong,” Peter said. “They believe in an angry, mean-spirited god who would punish people. I ask you, is this the kind of god you want?”

  Peter waited as people locked in their responses. A number flashed on the screen and the man smiled. “One hundred percent of you agree that god is not like that.”

  Judd noticed a humming in the background. As it grew louder, he realized what was coming.

  Peter threw his arms open wide. “God is here right now with you and me.” He placed his hands over his heart. “God is in us! We are god!”

  Someone screamed in the back of the church. Peter tried to calm the people, but off camera the droning of wings and shrill voices of locusts overtook the congregation.

  Peter stepped from behind the podium and the camera panned the frantic crowd. The locusts attacked people at will, stinging them and sending them to the floor.

  “Don’t panic!” Peter screamed. The camera focused on him just as several locusts flew his way. He screamed and threw his hat at the beasts, cursing. He pulled his thick robes over his head and fell.

  A locust found the exposed flesh of Peter’s leg. Judd hadn’t seen such a vivid picture of a person being stung before. The camera zoomed in as the beast threw its head back and bared its fangs. It sent the demonic venom deep into the bloodstream of the thrashing Pontifex Maximus. The camera swiveled wildly and the transmission went dead.

  Vicki introduced herself and the man said his name was Omer. He had been bitten when the locusts had first come. He was in great pain, but it seemed to be getting a little better.

  “My mother was on me every day about religion,” he said. “I knew I had to get away or I’d go crazy. I went to stay with a friend and started drinking. His dad threw me out, so I bought some booze and came up here.”

  As Vicki’s eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, she saw piles of bottles stacked around the room. “Does drinking make it less painful?”

  Omer shook his head. “I can’t even get drunk. I try but it doesn’t have the same effect.”

  “What do you think of your mom’s religion now?” Shelly said.

  Omer frowned. “I just want to be left alone. Is that so much to ask?”

  “Your mom is worried,” Vicki said. “You should let her know where you are.”

  “She’d be up here with a bunch of you people trying to get me to change my mind.”

  Vicki sighed. She wanted to talk with Omer about God, but he wasn’t ready. “Your mom says that’s your computer in the kitchen. Are you any good with it?”

  “It’s about all I am good at,” Omer said.

  “I’m trying to get a message to some friends but I can’t hook up,” Vicki said. “Can you help?”

  Omer scratched his beard. “If you don’t tell anybody about me, I’ll meet you at the back door tomorrow night.”

  Judd grew concerned when Nada didn’t return. Had she asked Kweesa too many questions? Maybe the GC was onto her.

  He found a phone and called the apartment. A woman answered on the third ring.

  “Kweesa?” Judd said.

  “You must be Judd,” the woman said. “Nada told me you might call. Something terrible has happened.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nada came a few minutes ago and asked a lot of questions about Kasim’s friend Dan. I told her everything I knew, but I don’t think I should have.”

  “Why?”

  “Dan was arrested a few weeks ago,” Kweesa said. “He’s in a GC prison.”

  “Arrested for what?” Judd said.

  “Subversion,” Kweesa said. “I don’t know what he did, but Nada is in real danger.”

  “Where is she?” Judd yelled.

  “She’s gone to the prison to see him!”

  20

  JUDD couldn’t believe Nada had gone to a GC prison, but since Kweesa wasn’t a believer, he tried to act calm. “Why are you upset with Nada?”

  “First of all, she took my car keys and ran out,” Kweesa said. “She’s going to get stung. And second, if she does make it to the prison, this Dan guy is off-limits. He must have done something really bad and the guards might think she’s mixed up with him.”

  “She’s grieving her brother,” Judd said. “She wants information. Won’t they understand?”

  Kweesa paused. “I don’t think so.”

  “I’ll try to stop her,” Judd said. He asked directions to the prison and ran into the street to hail a cab, but there were none. When he reached Pavel’s apartment, he found the elevators were out of service. Judd raced to the stairs.

  Mr. Rudja put up a hand when Judd rushed into the room. “Quiet. The doctors are doing more tests on Pavel.” Judd caught his breath and quickly explained the situation. “Will the GC let her in to talk with him?”

  Pavel’s father groaned and shut his eyes. “Daniel Nieters is a restricted case. Only a few people know the charges against him.”

  “What did he do?” Judd said.

  “He’s a believer. He spoke with someone in Leon Fortunato’s office about God and the person turned him in.”

  “Wouldn’t the GC want to make an example of him in public?”

  “Fortunately, Leon was embarrassed that a Judah-ite was working for them. I think he kept it quiet from the potentate for a while. They put Dan away and made the information classified.”

  “So there’s no way they’re going to let her talk to him,” Judd said.

  Mr. Rudja picked up the phone. “Dan is in isolation so he can’t talk with anyone, but security will detain and question anyone who asks for him.”

  While Mr. Rudja talked on the phone, Judd checked on Pavel. Lionel and Sam sat quietly in the room as a doctor examined him from a remote location.

  “Have you ever seen anything like that?” Lionel whispered as the probe scanned Pavel’s body. “House calls without leaving the hospital.”

  Lionel and Sam joined Judd in the next room. Judd explained what he had discovered on Kasim’s computer and where Nada had gone.

  Lionel rolled his eyes. “More trouble. I thought Mac told her to play it safe.”

  “I can understand why she’s excited,” Sam said. “If I thought a relative of mine might have become a believer before he died, I’d want to know.”

  “Yeah,” Lionel said, “but find out in heaven. Don’t risk your life and everybody else’s.”

  Pavel gave a cry and his father hurried into the room. As he passed, he handed Judd a set of car keys and said, “Wait here a moment.”

  “I’m going with you,” Lionel said.

  “Me too,” Sam said.

  Judd convinced Sam to stay and help. Mr. Rudja walked slowly out of the bedroom. He rubbed his face with both hands and sat heavily on the couch. “Take the car and go to the prison. I’ve explained to the warden how emotional the girl is and he’s agreed to let her talk with Dan. They’ll keep her in the waiting room until you get there.”

  “How’d you manage that?” Judd said.

  “It was more an order than a request,” Mr. Rudja said. “Tell her all conversations are recorded. Be extremely careful about what you say.”

  Judd nodded. “Is something else wrong?”

  “It’s Pavel. The report is not good. He might not be with us much longer.”

  Judd’s heart sank. He wanted to know more, but Mr. Rudja pushed him toward the door. “Hurry to the prison and bring Nada back safely. I’ll tell you about Pavel when you return.”

  Lionel agreed to ride with Judd and return Mr. Rudja’s car. Judd was in a daze as they drove to the prison.

  “I have to tell you,” Lionel said, “I don’t like the way this is working.”

  “I didn’t ask Nada to come,” Judd said.

  “Didn’t say you did. But you’re encouraging her. She’s talking about marriage.”

  “So?”

  “It’s crazy! You’re not ready for that.”

  “Let’s talk later,�
� Judd said. “I have to get Nada out of there and try to get back to Pavel.”

  Lionel stared out the window.

  “What?” Judd said.

  “When you want to shut people down you always say you want to talk later.”

  A sign pointed the way to the prison. Judd expected an imposing building on the outskirts of town with razor wire and guards every ten feet. Instead, the building was stately, with a sprawling lawn surrounded by a stone wall. It wasn’t until he pulled up to the entrance that he noticed the electronic sensors inside the compound.

  Judd got out. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Yeah,” Lionel said as he drove away.

  Judd walked to the front gate and said his name into a speaker. A man told him to come to the parking garage and follow signs for building “B.”

  Judd walked through a series of secured doors. A guard met him and looked surprised that Judd hadn’t been stung. The deputy warden shook hands with Judd and showed him to a waiting room where Nada sat alone. When she saw Judd, she stood and hugged him. The deputy warden gave them a few instructions. “We’ll call you when the prisoner is ready.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t come back for you,” Nada said after the man left. “When I found out where Dan was, I—”

  “It’s all right,” Judd said. “I understand.”

  Judd put his face close to Nada’s ear and whispered, “Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want Nicolae Carpathia himself to hear. Mr. Rudja says we’ll be monitored in every room. We have to be careful with Dan or we could all wind up in this place.”

  Nada stepped back, a look of horror on her face. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I?”

  Judd leaned close. “Play up your emotions. We’ve convinced them you’re here to find out about your brother and that you’re ticked at Dan for trying to lead him astray.”

  Nada immediately burst into tears. She put her head on Judd’s chest and said, “Why did he have to die?”

  Judd played along. “It’s been a long time since the earthquake. You need to move on.”

  “Oh yeah? Did you have a family member die in the quake?”

  “No.”

  “Then don’t tell me to move on! I miss him. I want to know what happened. They never found his body!”

  Nada collapsed into a chair and Judd sat beside her. “Good stuff,” he whispered. “Keep it up.”

  “If they’re listening to us, how are we going to talk to Dan?” Nada whispered.

  “We just let him talk,” Judd said.

  The deputy warden returned and escorted them into a small room with a table and three chairs. There were two huge mirrors on each side of the room.

  Moments later the door opened and a man in shackles shuffled in. He looked to be in his twenties and wore handcuffs around his wrists. His face was swollen and bruised. Though the man’s face was discolored, Judd could still see the mark of the believer plainly on his forehead.

  The man sat and leaned back in his chair. When he saw Judd and Nada’s marks, he smiled. The guard left and closed the door.

  “Who are you?” the man barked.

  Judd leaned forward. “Are you Dan Nieters?”

  “You know who I am—now what do you want?” Dan said.

  Judd was glad Dan was speaking gruffly. He surely had no idea who they were and what they wanted, but if he kept this act up, they might make it out okay.

  Nada leaned forward and shouted, “You knew my brother! Kasim!”

  Dan caught his breath and shifted in his chair. “Yeah, I knew him. We worked security. He was in the Administration Building when it came down. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Nada chose her words carefully. “My brother was devoted to the Global Community. You tried to take him away with your foolish ideas, didn’t you?!”

  Dan squirmed in his seat. He looked like he was searching for the right words.

  “My family didn’t get to say good-bye,” Nada said. “Were you with him before he died?”

  Dan stared at them. Finally, he said, “Jesus is Lord.”

  “Don’t give us that!” Judd said.

  “’God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. . . .’”

  Someone moved in the next room. Dan glanced at a mirror. The door to the room burst open and a guard grabbed Dan and pulled him to his feet.

  “I tell you the same thing the angel said to the women who came to the tomb!” Dan shouted. “Matthew 7:7!”

  The guard pulled Dan from the room and slammed the door. Nada put her head on the table. A few moments later the door opened and the deputy warden joined them. He held up his hands in disgust. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. You can see what we have to deal with.”

  Nada sobbed. “Why did he speak that way? Why couldn’t he tell me something?”

  “This man is a religious zealot,” the deputy warden said. “I knew he wouldn’t cooperate, but I understand you had to try.”

  When they were in the car, Nada said, “What do you think Dan meant?”

  Judd put a finger to his lips. He drove through the gate and a few minutes later pulled to the curb and stopped. Judd searched under the seats and throughout the car. “I want to make sure they didn’t plant some kind of listening device. He was definitely trying to send us a message, but he knew we’d be in big trouble if we just talked.”

  “I don’t get it,” Nada said. “Was he saying Kasim became a believer?”

  “I’m not sure,” Judd said.

  Judd took Nada to Pavel’s apartment and told the others what had happened. Mr. Rudja had called the prison shortly after Judd and Nada left. “You did well. They don’t suspect anything.”

  Judd repeated exactly what Dan had said.

  Lionel grabbed a Bible and opened to the book of Matthew. “Let’s assume he was trying to tell you something and the ‘Jesus is Lord’ was him getting the GC’s attention off of you.

  “The second part is from John 3:16,” Lionel continued. “It’s probably the most famous verse in the Bible.”

  “Do you think that means Kasim became a believer?” Nada said.

  “It’s a good guess,” Judd said, “but maybe there’s more.”

  “Yeah,” Lionel said as he flipped pages, “the next part is about what the angel said to the women at the tomb.”

  Lionel searched passages in all four Gospels and concluded that Dan had to be talking about Luke 24. The kids gathered around and read the passage.

  “But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, ‘Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead!’ ”

  Nada smiled. “That’s it! Dan was telling us that though Kasim died in the earthquake, he’s alive spiritually. He must have believed!”

  “Maybe,” Judd said, “but Dan could have come right out and said that and not endangered us.”

  “Maybe the answer is in the last verse Dan gave you,” Lionel said. He opened the Bible to Matthew 7:7.

  “ ‘Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.’ ”

  “I know he’s telling us that Kasim became a believer!” Nada said.

  An alarm rang in Pavel’s room. Judd ran to the boy’s side and found Mr. Rudja on his knees by the bed. Doctors in the monitor barked orders.

  Pavel’s face was ashen. His pulse was weak and erratic. Suddenly, the line went flat and the machine sounded a piercing beep.

  “Do something!” Judd yelled.

  21

  WHILE Shelly kept watch for anyone moving around the house, Vicki met Omer at the back door. He
looked around the kitchen nervously. “You sure my mom didn’t put you up to this?”

  Vicki shook her head and whispered, “I didn’t tell her anything. Everybody’s asleep except for our friend Pete. He’s at the gas station.”

  Omer sat in front of the screen and entered a few codes.

  “Where did you learn to type that fast?” Vicki said.

  “Just because I’m from Tennessee doesn’t mean I’m stupid,” Omer said.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” Vicki said.

  Omer winced in pain from the locust bite and pointed to the screen. “I put a block in here on the satellite phone.”

  “You have a satphone?” Vicki said.

  “One of the toys I was into back when the disappearances happened,” Omer said. He changed some codes and tried to dial. “Who are you trying to reach?” Omer said.

  “Some friends in Illinois,” Vicki said. “We haven’t had contact with them since—”

  The back door opened and Pete walked in, out of breath. Vicki introduced Omer, who stood to leave.

  “Stay where you are,” Pete said to Omer. He looked at Vicki and Shelly. “You’ll be glad to know our new rig is lined up. We can head out tomorrow morning.”

  Omer continued working, determined to fix the problem. He grabbed a screwdriver and took the back off the computer. As he tinkered with the inside, Vicki saw someone out of the corner of her eye.

  “O?”

  Omer turned. “Mom.”

  The woman, in her bathrobe, hugged her son and wept. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

  Omer looked at the floor.

  “It’s okay,” his mother said. “What’s important is that you’re back.”

  “I’m not staying.”

  The woman looked stunned. She glanced at Vicki and Shelly. “I must look a mess. Let me get you all something to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry,” Omer said. “I’m just going to get this computer going for these girls; then I’m leaving.” Vicki and Shelly turned to leave.