The Three: A Novel
Page 27
Two weeks later we heard that the DNA did indeed match Kenneth Oduah’s aunt, and it wasn’t long before the authorities organised a big press conference. I assumed that Kenneth would be taken away almost immediately after that, but then the police called to say that Kenneth’s aunt had fallen sick (perhaps from the shock of hearing about her nephew) and so could not travel from Lagos to formally identify and collect the boy. They told me another family member, a distant one, was en route instead.
He arrived the next day, and said he was the cousin of Kenneth’s father. I asked him if he was sure that the boy was his relative and he was adamant that he was.
‘Do you know this man, Kenneth?’ I asked the boy.
‘I know this man,’ the boy said.
‘Do you want to go with him or stay here with us?’
The boy did not know what to say to that. If you asked him, ‘Do you want to stay?’ he would say, ‘I want to stay,’ but then, if I asked him, ‘Do you want to go with this man?’ he would say, ‘I want to go.’
He did not seem to know what was going on.
He was taken away that night.
The following article was published in the UK’s Evening Standard online edition on 18 May 2012.
Rapture Fever Sweeps the US
An enterprising pastor has opened the first drive-through baptism centre in San Antonio, Texas, where, for the price of a Happy Meal, you can secure your place in heaven.
‘You can get saved on your lunch hour!’ Pastor Vincent Galbraith (48) beams. ‘Just drive on in, take Jesus into your heart and drive back to work in the knowledge that when the Rapture comes, you’ll be one of God’s chosen.’
Pastor Galbraith, a follower of Dr Theodore Lund’s End Times movement, came up with the idea after his church was overrun by panicked wannabe Christians who had taken on board the bizarre theory that The Three, and now Kenneth Oduah, are the harbingers of the apocalypse. And so far, even though it’s been open for less than a week, the lines snake around the block. ‘People are getting desperate and rightly so,’ the former insurance salesman turned pastor says. ‘Those signs can’t be ignored and I knew someone had to come up with a solution. We’re not picky. I don’t care what your religious affiliation was before. Muslim, Jew, atheist, all are welcome. You never know when the Lord is gonna call us to Him.’ He chuckles. ‘And at this rate I’m thinking about franchising it.’
Pastor Galbraith’s new enterprise is only one of the many indications that thousands of people in the US’s Bible Belt and beyond are taking the Riders of the Apocalypse theory seriously. In a recent poll undertaken by CNN in conjunction with Time magazine, a whopping 69% of Americans believe that the events of Black Thursday could be a sign that the end of the world is imminent.
In Kentucky, Hannigan Lewis (52) is proselytising the ‘Down Tools’ movement. ‘The Rapture could happen at any time,’ says the ex fork-lift driver. ‘If you are flying a plane, driving a bus, and you’re one of the saved, well hell, when you’re taken up to Heaven all of a sudden, think of the carnage.’ Borrowing a phrase from an unpopular UK Conservative Party campaign, he’s encouraging Rapture believers to get ‘back to basics’ and divorce themselves from any technology that could potentially harm those left behind when the faithful are raptured.
But not all American believers are buying into the theory. Pastor Kennedy Olax, the head of the Austin-based Christians for Change organisation, says: ‘We would counsel people not to give in to the hysteria sweeping the country at this time. There is no reason to panic. The ridiculous and unproven horseman theory is nothing but fear-mongering, stemming from a desire to whip up the religious right and get Reynard into the White House now that we’re in an election year.’
Other groups are worried about the political and social changes this religious hysteria could bring. And now that Dr Lund and his rapidly growing End Times movement have publicly backed hard-line Republican presidential hopeful Mitch Reynard, their concerns appear to be increasingly legitimate. ‘We’re worried,’ said Gay and Lesbian League spokesperson Poppy Abrams (37). ‘We know that Dr Lund is working hard to draw together all the disparate evangelical and fundamentalist groups that make up the religious right, and Mitch Reynard is running on anti gay marriage and pro-life platforms. He may not be ahead in the polls yet, but his support is growing daily.’
Iman Arif Hamid of the US Islamic Coalition is more philosophical. ‘We are not worried that there will be a backlash against Muslims like we saw after 9/11. Most of the vitriol appears to be targeted at the abortion clinics and the homosexual community. So far there have been no reports about Muslim citizens being marginalised.’
Although the horseman theory hasn’t yet caused the same level of panic in the UK, many British clerics of all denominations, from Catholic to Church of England, have seen an increase in church attendance. And now that the so-called fourth horseman has been found, maybe it’s only a matter of time before we’re super-sizing our own baptisms on this side of the Atlantic.
Reba Louise Neilson.
It pains me to talk about this, Elspeth. But I feel I need to tell my side. People out there need to know that there are good Christian folk in Sannah County who never wanted any harm to come to those children.
I reckon Pastor Len really started letting the devil into his heart just after Kendra upped and left, and Dr Lund broke away from him for good. Then there were all those reporters making fun of him (Stephenie said they even did a skit about him on Saturday Night Live, though she doesn’t usually watch that kind of programming). And all those folks, the Lookie-Loos, they didn’t help any. A whole new wave of them came after they found Kenneth Oduah out in Africa and people started saying that Bobby Small’s grandfather had started talking again even though he had that Alzheimer’s. There were so many I heard he had to hire in some of those chemical toilets and you could barely see Pastor Len’s ranch from the road for the number of Winnebagos and pick-ups that were parked on his property. I’m not saying some of them weren’t good Christian folk, but I’d see them around town sometimes and some of them had a lost look in their eyes, as if their souls were broken. People like that Monty.
But in my opinion, the real tipping point was Jim.
Glory, that was a terrible day. I can recall it right down to the last detail. I was in the kitchen, fixing Lorne a sandwich–bologna and cheese, his favourite. I had the TV on in the kitchen, and Mitch Reynard was being interviewed by Miranda Stewart, talking about how the US had been going to hell in a hand basket, and that the time was ripe to get the country back onto a good moral footing (Stephenie thinks he looks a little bit like that George Clooney, but I’m not so sure). He and Dr Lund were always on the news around that time. They were being lambasted left, right and centre by the liberal element, but they stuck to their guns, and rightly so. The phone rang just as I was about to take Lorne his lunch. When I heard Pastor Len’s voice on the other end of the line, I don’t mind admitting that I felt uncomfortable. I thought maybe he was going to ask me why I hadn’t been at church or Bible study for a while, but all he wanted to know was if I’d seen Jim. Pastor Len said he was planning one of his special early-morning prayer meetings, and Jim had agreed to come over to the ranch and talk to the new Lookie-Loos about what a good woman Pamela had been. I said that I hadn’t seen Jim for a week or so, but I was fixing to take him a lasagne that evening. Pastor Len asked me if I wouldn’t mind going over there early to check on him as he wasn’t answering his phone. He said he hoped to see me at church that Sunday, then hung up.
I couldn’t settle for a good half-an-hour after that–part of me still felt guilty for turning my back on the church like that–and then I called around the Inner Circle to see if anyone had any news about Jim. Fact is, by then, most people had stopped taking him food and checking up on him. Stephenie, Lena and I were the only ones left who still went by occasionally, though he never seemed grateful. Next, I tried Jim’s number three or four times, but there was no answer. Lorne was
out back, and I asked him if he’d drive me over to Jim’s place to make sure he hadn’t passed out drunk and maybe hit his head.
I thank the Lord every day that Lorne had the day off; I could never have faced it on my own. I knew that something untoward had happened the second we pulled up. I could see it by the number of flies that were crawling on the inside of the screen door. It was black with them.
Lorne called Manny Beaumont straight away, and we stayed in the truck while he and his deputy went inside. Sheriff Beaumont said it was obvious it was suicide; Jim had put his shotgun in his mouth and blown his head clean off his shoulders. And he’d left a note addressed to Pastor Len. We didn’t know what it said until Pastor Len read it out at Jim’s funeral. That’s when things really took a turn.
Jim may have committed a sin against God by taking his own life, but me, Stephenie and a few of the other Inner Circle folk agreed to do the flowers for his service. The church was packed to the rafters with Pastor Len’s Lookie-Loos, strangers who’d never even known Jim. Lorne said that Pastor Len was playing up to the TV cameras that were there, no doubt hoping that Dr Lund would see him on the news.
‘Jim is a martyr,’ Pastor Len said. ‘One of the witnesses, like his wife, Pamela. Time is running out. There are still thousands that need to be saved before it is too late. We need more time and Jesus, He ain’t gonna wait forever.’
Lorne says the authorities should have stopped him right then and there. But what could Sheriff Beaumont do? This is America, people have a right to do what they want on their own land, and Pastor Len wasn’t breaking any laws. Not then he wasn’t. He didn’t come right out and say that those children should be killed.
Pastor Len had been my guiding light for the longest time. I’d trusted in his words, heeded his sermons, looked up to him. But what he was saying, about Pamela being a prophet, and that Jim killing himself wasn’t a sin but his way of showing us that the fifth seal had been opened, didn’t sit right with me, and that’s a fact. I believe that Jesus spoke to me and said, Reba, break away. Break away now. For good. So that’s what I did. And I know in my heart that I did the right thing.
Although Private First Class Jake Wallace attempted to destroy his laptop’s hard drive after he disappeared from his base on Okinawa Island, the following correspondence was recovered by an anonymous hacker and posted on the popular debunking blog, VigilanteHacks, as alleged proof that Pastor Len Vorhees played a part in Jake Wallace’s subsequent actions.
To: bearingthecross@yahoo.com
From: messenger778@moxy.com
Date: 25/04/2012
Dear Sir,
Thank you for the last link to your latest sermon on YouTube. It was awesome to hear your voice and know that you are thinking of your Messengers all over the world. But it made me mad to read the disrespectful comments below it. I did what you said and didn’t respond to them altho I wanted to with all of my heart!!!!! I also set up another email address under another name like you said to do as you can see!!!!!
I have lots to tell you Sir. You said to tell you if I had another one of my dreams about Mrs Pamela May Donald. I had one last night. This time I came out of my tent and into the forest clearing where the crash happened. Mrs Donald was lying on her back, and her face was covered with a thin white shroud. When she breathed in the shroud fell into her open mouth and I had to try to pull it out so that she would not suffacate [sic]. The shroud felt greasy and slipped in my hands and then she was gone and my sister Cassie was there and she also had a shroud and she said to me Jake I can’t breathe either and then I woke up. I was as cold as I was in the forest and I had to bite my fist to stop from screaming again.
Sir, without your messages I would feel so alone. Even the Christian marines here make jokes about the boy and the robot that he speaks thru and they just don’t see that it is no joking matter. There is a group who are copying what the kid is doing and talking only thru robots and False Idols and I am afraid that the Antichrist’s influence is spreading even to this island. I am keeping a low profile like you said and just doing my duty and my training, but it is hard. If we can save one person, isn’t that what we must do? There are American families and children here and innocents. Isn’t it my duty as a Messenger to save others before it is too late?
Yours Faithfully,
J
To: messenger778@moxy.com
From: bearingthecross@aol.com
Date: 26/04/2012
True Messenger,
It is our lot and our Burden to be surrounded by those who refuse to see the truth. Be careful that they do not worm their way into your heart with their lies and their charm causing Doubt. Doubt is the demon you must be on your guard against. This is why I am saying to you to keep a low profile. I see your point about the innocents and I myself also struggle with this, but the time will come when we will stage the final battle and then those who have taken the Truth into their hearts will be saved.
How I rejoiced to hear of your dream! It is another SIGN! Like our prophet Pamela May Donald, you were shown proof in that forest when you saw those who will be taken up and Saved. Pamela May Donald is showing you the true way. She is showing you that like the bile spewed forth by the false prophets Flexible Sandy and Dr Theodore Lund, words are empty and only ACTIONS matter when the time comes to be tested.
You are being tested, Jake. You are being tested by the Lord our God to see if you will stray from the path. YOU and YOU alone are our voice and heart in that heathen nation. I know it is lonely, but you will receive your reward. The signs are building, Jake. The signs are BUILDING. My Messengers are growing, as more and more of the chosen have flocked to join me. But you, you who are out on his own, in a land of the Heathen, are the bravest of us all.
He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Remember the Ears and Eyes of the many-headed AntiChrist are watching all of our Messengers so be vigilant.
To: bearingthecross@aol.com
From: messenger778@moxy.com
Date: 07/05/2012
Dear Sir,
It is good of you to write to me so often as I know that you must be very busy now that your true Messengers are joining you in person as well as in spirit. I wish with all my HEART that I could be with them but I know this is not part of God’s plan for me!!!!
You’re [sic] words bring me True Comfort but your meaning is clear, do not worry Sir I am being careful and always delete them as you said I should.
There was another anti-US base protest in Urima yesterday. I felt a strong urge to go and speak to the Heathens to tell them that they must turn to Jesus before it is too late. In Luke it says that we must love our enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back, but I knew that for the Greater Good I shouldn’t do that.
Yours faithfully,
J
To: bearingthecross@aol.com
From: messenger778@moxy.com
Date: 20/05/2012
Dear Sir,
I have been checking my email everyday now and I have run thru my mind everything I have said in case I have offended you as I haven’t got an email from you for a while and then I saw the news about the death of Pamela May Donald’s husband.
It says that he committed the sin of suicide. Can this be right?
I know you must be very busy with your Mourning but please try and write to me even if it is only one line as reading your words gives me strength. I have tried to find your website but I can’t get on to it any more which makes me worry that you and the other True Believers have been overtaken by those who are working for the Antichrist.
Sir, I need your Help. There are floods in the Philippines, which has to be another sign of the evil overtaking the world. Some of the guys say that my unit is going to be shipped out to help with the rescue efforts. Can I still be your Voice and Heart and Ears and Eyes if I leave here?
I feel very alone.
J
To: bearingthecross@aol.com
From: messenger778@moxy.com
Date: 21/05/2012
Sir? Are you there? My unit leaves in 3 days what should I do?
To: messenger778@moxy.com
From: bearingthecross@aol.com
Date: 21/05/2012
True Messenger,
You are not alone. You must have faith that even in my Silence I am by your side. We are being persecuted and belittled by the False Prophets and their Flatterers but we will not break.
I have sent you a copy of my last blog post, which explains Jim Donald’s actions.
Jim Donald like his Beloved Wife has sacrificed himself to tell us the Real Truth, the Truth that I have suspected since the beginning when Pamela May Donald paid the ultimate price to personally send her prophecy.
You are one of the chosen. You are special. We are facing a Holy War and time is running out. It is time for God’s Soldiers to step forward. Are you prepared to be one of God’s Soldiers?
We need to talk but not where the eyes and ears of the Antichrist and his Flatterers can hear. Let me know of a time I can call you where we will be undisturbed.
To: bearingthecross@aol.com
From: messenger778@moxy.com
Date: 27/05/2012
Dear Sir,
I am sorry to go against your wishes but this is agony to me! I keep thinking about my family and my sister especially who haven’t been saved and what will happen to them if they do not see the Truth before it is too late.
I have received your donation. I have made contact with a group who I think can help me leave but I am not sure.
I am in the sick bay like you said I should so I cannot write for long. My unit has left. Can we talk again? I need to hear your voice as I am having Doubts.
J
To: messenger778@moxy.com