“Where would the people come from?” Vicki said.
“There are lots of people in town who need help. And I know of a station wagon we could use to bring people back.”
“Let me think about it and talk with the others,” Vicki said. “Right now I need to do something.”
The kids had cleaned up the basement and tried to make the rooms more comfortable, but Janie had torn down lights and coverings for the walls. Vicki knocked and opened the trapdoor that led to the deepest part of the hideout. The last time she was here the locusts were after Lenore and Tolan.
Melinda sat on a bed, her back against the wall. Her hair hung in front of her face. Janie stood in the corner, arms folded. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.Her skin was pale, her lips chapped. Janie stared at Vicki. The girl’s eyes seemed vacant, like the lights were on but there was no one home.
Janie stared at Vicki but didn’t respond when Vicki said hello. “Don’t look at me that way—you’re creeping me out,” Vicki said.
Janie’s voice was hollow. “Are you here to rescue us or to keep us locked up?”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re torturing us. It’s not enough that we’re in pain; they lock us in the dark.”
“From what I heard, you were dangerous to yourselves and the others.”
“She almost burned the place down,” Melinda said.
“Shut up!” Janie shouted.
Vicki backed away. The girls looked like someone from a bad horror movie had done their makeup. Only this was real.
“Take a good look at us!” Janie shouted. “You think your God can save us now?”
Before Vicki could answer, Melinda said to Janie, “Leave her alone. She hasn’t done anything but try to help.”
“Help?” Janie said. “She tried to shove her religion down our throats.”
Vicki sat on Melinda’s bed. “Are you feeling any better?”
Melinda swallowed hard. “I don’t know whether the pain has lessened or if I’ve just gotten used to it. I keep thinking about Felicia and how much better off she is—”
“Who’s Felicia?” Janie shouted.
“The Morale Monitor she came here with,” Vicki said. “She drank some water that was poisoned and died.”
“I wish I had drunk that water,” Janie said.
Vicki spoke softly to Melinda. “God’s still trying to get your attention. In a few weeks, you won’t feel as bad. You’ll be tempted to forget what you’ve gone through.”
“I’ll never forget this,” Melinda said.
“How do you know we’re going to get better?” Janie sneered.
“Tsion Ben-Judah says the sting’s effect lasts a few months; then it wears off. Pretty soon those locusts will be gone and something else is going to happen. Something terrible.”
“What?” Janie said.
Vicki shook her head. “You’re not ready to hear it.”
Janie rushed toward Vicki and screamed, “Tell me!”
“I’ve tried,” Vicki said. “If you really want to know, come to me after this is over.”
Janie muttered something and retreated to her bed.
Vicki turned to Melinda, but the girl asked her to leave. “I can’t listen when I feel this bad.”
Vicki found the others and explained Lenore’s plan. Everyone seemed open to the idea except Mark. “It sounds good, but it’s a huge risk. We’re the hub of the Young Trib Force. If somebody rats us out, the GC could be here in no time. They’d seize our equipment and find out about Carl. The Web site would be history. Why do you want to make us vulnerable?”
“We’re not trying to make the schoolhouse vulnerable,” Lenore said. “We’re trying to help people come to know the truth.”
“From the start, that was my dream for this place,” Vicki said. “I didn’t see it as a clubhouse for us, but a training center and a place where anyone truly seeking could find answers.”
“It’s that now,” Mark said. “We’re reaching people around the world on the Internet—”
“But we could do more,” Lenore interrupted. “I was a risk and you guys still took me in. I could have ratted you out, but I didn’t. God brought me here.”
Mark smiled. “I can’t argue with that.” He scratched his neck and winced. “I’m not saying I don’t like the plan; I just want us to count the cost of doing this.”
“Let’s vote,” Darrion said. “All in favor, raise a hand.”
Slowly, everyone in the room raised a hand, even Mark.
“Then it’s settled,” Vicki said. “We’ll make our first run into town tomorrow.”
While Lionel and Sam stayed with Yitzhak, Judd rode with Nada and Kasim through the darkened streets of Jerusalem. The streets were deserted. With the windows rolled down, Judd heard sobbing and howling from people inside their homes who had recently been stung.
As Kasim drove, Judd’s mind wandered to his friends in Illinois. Were the locusts as thick there? He wondered if Vicki had heard about his friendship with Nada and that things were getting more serious. But how serious? Judd thought. Nada’s father might hold a grudge against him, blame him for taking Nada to New Babylon. Would the safe return of Kasim be enough to ease the man’s anger at Judd?
Kasim parked on a darkened part of the street and waited. When they were sure they weren’t being watched, the three got out of the car and walked toward an alley.
Suddenly, a GC squad car approached with its lights flashing.
“In here,” Judd said as he pulled Nada toward a doorway.
The squad car flew past them. Judd noticed the two officers wore protective clothing. Kasim motioned for Judd and Nada to follow him. They located the correct apartment and pressed the buzzer in the lobby.
A woman spoke in a different language through a tiny speaker by the door. Then in broken English she said, “Who you?”
Nada gave her name. “I’m looking for my mother and father.”
“Who with you?” the woman said.
Judd looked in the corner of the tiny lobby and saw a camera. He whispered to Nada, “She might think it’s a GC trap and you’re being used.”
“My name is Nada. I’ve come to see my parents. I have very good news for them.”
“Third floor,” the woman said. The door buzzed. Nada and Kasim went through first and headed upstairs.
Judd took a deep breath and followed.
29
JUDD couldn’t remember feeling so nervous. When he made the speech at Nicolae High he was scared, but he felt peaceful because he was doing the right thing. He had no idea how this would turn out.
Both Nada and Kasim wore bulky clothes and hats pulled low. Nada knocked on the apartment door. A wiry, older woman opened it a few inches and checked them out.
“Are my parents here?” Nada said.
The woman nodded. “They know you, not man with beard.”
Nada put her arm around Kasim. “This is a friend and brother. Let us in.”
The woman unlatched the door and the three went inside. The apartment smelled musty, and there were old pictures and trinkets on every shelf and table. Nada’s mother rushed from the kitchen and the two embraced.
The woman led them through the kitchen to a back room. Nada’s father, Jamal, stood in the doorway with his arms folded. When he saw Nada, he took her in his arms. “I didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through this. But I learned God can even use my mistakes.”
“Quiet,” Jamal said, “you’re home now.”
Kasim watched the scene and wiped away a tear. His mother and father glanced at him, but it was clear they didn’t recognize him.
Jamal led Nada and her mother into the bedroom. He returned and glared at Judd. “At least you brought her home safely. I thank you for that. Since you came to us we’ve seen no end of trouble. The GC have impounded our house!”
Judd wanted to defend himself, but he held his to
ngue.
“I can’t have you stay with my family any longer.”
Kasim put a hand on Judd’s shoulder. Kasim’s lips trembled.
“I’ll have to ask you and your friend to leave,” Jamal said. “I’m sorry.”
“Father, you don’t understand,” Nada said from the bedroom.
Kasim put a finger to his lips and stepped forward. He tried to speak but couldn’t.
Kasim’s father stared at him, going over his features. “You have to forgive me. There’s something about you that reminds me . . .”
Kasim took off his hat and put a hand on the man’s arm.
“You look so much like my son, except for the mark of the believer, of course.”
Judd felt like an intruder. He wanted to look away or move into the next room, but he stayed.
Kasim glanced down, wiped his eyes, and finally looked into Jamal’s eyes. “Father.”
When Kasim spoke, Jamal’s mouth dropped open.
Nada pulled her mother close. “Kasim?” the woman whispered.
Then the tears flowed. Jamal embraced Kasim. Kasim’s mother fell to her knees and the two men followed.
Nada knelt beside the three. “You see, Father, I told you something good happened while I was in New Babylon.”
“Yes,” Jamal said as he embraced his son. He rocked back and forth, as if holding a baby. Kasim’s mother wept. Every few moments she touched her son’s face or ran a hand over the mark on his forehead.
The old woman, who had been watching from the kitchen, came up behind Judd. “Move. Too much noise.”
Judd followed the others inside. Nada, Kasim, and their parents wept several minutes before Kasim could tell his story. Judd didn’t want to interfere with the reunion, but he couldn’t help listening to Kasim’s story again. Kasim had gone from loyal Global Community worker to follower of Christ. To his parents, he had come back from the dead.
Kasim’s mother wanted to know why he hadn’t contacted them. Jamal asked how he had survived, once his roommate had been arrested by the Global Community. On and on they talked. When there was a lull in the conversation, Nada would hug Kasim or her parents. Finally, Kasim turned the questions on his parents.
Jamal shook his head. “We’ve tried to stay ahead of the GC, but even with the locusts, they find a way to harass us. We went back to our home a few days ago and found it has been boarded up and condemned.”
“What will you do now?”
Jamal smiled. “We have our son back. We will find an answer to that question together.” But Jamal’s smile vanished when he finally looked at Judd.
“Father, Judd was a great help to us in finding Kasim,” Nada said. “And while we were there he lost his friend.”
Jamal stared at Judd. “I’m truly sorry for your loss. Let’s step in the next room.”
Judd followed the man into the kitchen and sat at the table. The old woman offered them coffee but both refused.
“Nada said you had nothing to do with her going to New Babylon.”
“That’s right.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
Judd took a breath. “Sir, your daughter loves you and your wife very much. When we discovered her on the plane, I suggested she call you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Your daughter is very strong-willed. When she decides to do something, it’s very hard to talk her out of it.”
Jamal smiled and nodded.
“Nada and I are good friends,” Judd continued. “I’m not exactly sure where that will lead us, but I know she feels strongly about me. If you try pushing me away, it would hurt both of us.”
“You believe she would choose you over her own family?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t want to force her to make that choice. She needs her family, and right now we both want to spend time with each other.”
Jamal scratched his beard and thought. Finally he said, “You’re an exceptional young man. I admit I felt you were responsible for luring her away. I was wrong.” He stood and reached for Judd’s hand. “Thank you for helping us find our son. You have permission to see Nada as much as is safe. I only ask that you not stay with us during this time.”
“Agreed. Thank you.”
Judd walked back into the room and said good-bye to Kasim.
Kasim stood and hugged Judd. “We’ve been through a great adventure together. I hope we see each other again.”
“You will,” Nada said, smiling. She walked Judd to the front door. “What did my father say to you?”
“It was what I said to him that was the most important,” Judd said.
“What?”
“I told him he has a mule-headed daughter who’s madly in love. And if he wants to keep her around, he ought to let us see each other.”
“Mule-headed?”
Judd smiled. “I know it’s not fair to the mules, but he understood.”
Nada punched Judd on the shoulder and laughed. “Call me.”
The two embraced before Judd quietly slipped out the front door.
Vicki and the others decided Darrion, Vicki, and Lenore should go into town. They would start walking before sunup and try to make it by lunch. If they weren’t back before dark, Mark would come after them on a motorcycle.
The others began moving the computer equipment and stored files to the second-floor office. That room and the room next to it would become the nerve center for their Internet operation.
Mark showed Vicki e-mails that had come in since she had returned. There were at least a hundred requests from kids around the country to have the Young Trib Force visit their cities.
“No way we could go to all those places,” Vicki said. “The GC could be monitoring the Web site.”
“True,” Mark said, “but there might be a way to tell people you’re coming but not let them know specifics until the day of the meeting. With the locusts still out there, it could work.”
“You usually tell me to be cautious. Why are you convinced this will work?”
Mark turned in his chair. “I’ve read what those guys in South Carolina said. We’ve gotten some e-mails from Tennessee too. What you taught them really made a difference. God is using you in this soul harvest predicted in the Bible.”
Vicki shook her head. “I appreciate your confidence, but what you’re talking about is something God does through Tsion Ben-Judah and the witnesses. Who am I?”
“Pray about it.”
Mark patted Vicki on the shoulder and left the room.
Before she went to bed, Vicki tried calling Omer’s place in Tennessee. There was no answer.
The next morning Vicki, Darrion, and Lenore left for town. Lenore gave instructions to Shelly for Tolan’s feeding times and naps.
The air was crisp, but Vicki thought it felt good to be outside. A few locusts still buzzed around them, but there didn’t seem to be as many as before.
As they walked, the girls prayed out loud for people and situations. Vicki prayed for Omer and the believers in Tennessee. Darrion prayed for the believers in Maryland who had been arrested. Lenore prayed for Chris Traickin and others who had been stung by the locusts. “And, Lord, we ask you to prepare some people right now, the people you want us to meet. Show us which ones we can trust, which ones want to hear the message, and which ones just aren’t ready.”
When they reached town, Lenore led them to a friend’s house. A station wagon was sitting in the driveway. Lenore knocked at the front door but there was no answer.
Vicki heard pecking and found a tiny window in the basement just above ground. She rubbed dirt from the window and spotted two women inside. One was older with gray hair, and the other was middle-aged.
“Is that you, Connie?” Lenore shouted.
“Who is that?” the middle-aged woman yelled.
“Lenore Barker! Is your mother with you?”
“Yes!”
“Have you been stung?” Lenore said.
“Both of us,” Connie shou
ted. “But only once. We’re hiding down here, but the food’s about to run out.”
“We’ve come to help you,” Lenore said.
Lenore told Vicki that Connie and her mother had given her food when no one else would. “I think these two would be perfect for the schoolhouse.”
Vicki and Darrion nodded.
Lenore coaxed the women upstairs and promised the locusts wouldn’t sting again.
“We’re in bad shape,” Connie said as they made their way outside. The two were pale as ghosts and squinted at the sunlight. They had been bitten the first day of the locust attack and hadn’t been outside since. They both felt that the effects of the stings were wearing off a little.
Connie and her mother cowered as locusts buzzed around them saying, “Apollyon.”
“They won’t bite you twice,” Lenore said.
“How is Tolan?” Connie asked. “We haven’t seen you since the big freeze.”
Lenore told them about her husband’s death and how the kids had rescued her. “We’d like to use your car to take people to a hospital we’ve set up. We’ll help take care of you until you get your strength back.”
Connie and her mother agreed to go but said their car was out of gas. While Lenore helped clear junk out of it, Vicki and Darrion went to a gas station for fuel.
On the way, Vicki and Darrion discovered two teenage girls wandering the street. They seemed in so much pain that they could hardly listen to Vicki’s questions about wanting help. Finally, she convinced them to follow her to the station wagon.
By the time they made it back to the car with fuel, Lenore had met another middle-aged woman who wanted to go to the schoolhouse.
“God is working it out,” Lenore said. “We have a whole carful without even trying.”
“Should we say anything about God before we leave?” Darrion said. “Just to see their reaction?”
Lenore shook her head. “Let’s show them God’s love by our actions. Take them in, give them a place to recover, and eventually they’ll ask us why we’re doing this. Then we tell them and invite them to study the Bible with us.”
Others in the neighborhood heard people were offering help and came running. A group gathered around the station wagon and pleaded to be taken to the makeshift hospital.
Frantic Page 20
