HEATWAVE
  Jerry B Jenkins Tim LaHaye
  WITH CHRIS FABRY
  TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC.
WHEATON, ILLINOIS
Visit Tyndale's exciting Web site at
www tyndale com
  Discover the latest Left Behind news at www.leftbehind.com
  Copyright [*copy] 2004 by Jerry B
Jenkins and Tim LaHaye All rights reserved
  Cover photo copyright [*copy] 1995
by Mark Green All rights reserved
  Cover photo copyright [*copy]
1987 by Robert Flesher All rights reserved
  Left Behind is a registered trademark of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc
  Published in association with the literary agency of
Alive Communications, Inc, 7680 Goddard
Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs,
CO 80920
  Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation copyright
[*copygg'1996 Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc , Wheaton, Illinois
60189 All rights reserved
  Scripture quotations are taken from the New
King James Version Copyright
[*copygg'1979, 1980 1982, 1991
by Thomas Nelson, Inc Used by permission All
rights reserved
  Edited by Lorie Popp
  ISBN 0-8423-8347-6, mass paper
  Printed in the United States of America



To Andrew David Borden



TABLE OF CONTENTS
  What's Gone On Before xi
  1. The Fourth Bowl 1
  2. Missing 13
  3. The Search 25
  4. The Chase 35
  5. Mark's New Friend 47
  6. Clemson's Decision 59
  7. Last Leg of the Trip 71
  8. Reunion 83
  9. First Steps 93
  10. Working for the Co-op 105
  11. Library Mission 117
  12. Rescue 131
  13. The Longest Night 143
  14. Night Moves 157
  15. Westin's Idea 171
  About the Authors


THE YOUNG TRIBULATION FORCE
  Original members - Vicki Byrne, Judd
Thompson, Lionel Washington
  Other members - Mark, Conrad, Darrion,
Janie, Charlie, Shelly, Melinda
  OTHER BELIEVERS
  Chang Wong - Chinese teenager working in New
Babylon
  Tsion Ben-Judah - Jewish scholar who
writes about prophecy
  Colin and Becky Dial - Wisconsin couple
  Sam Goldberg - Jewish teenager, Lionel's good friend
  Mr. Mitchell Stein - Jewish friend of the Young
Trib Force
  Naomi Tiberius - computer whiz living in
Petra
  Chaim Rosenzweig - famous Israeli
scientist
  Tanya Spivey - daughter of Mountain Militia leader, Cyrus Spivey
  Cheryl Tifanne - young lady from Iowa
Zeke Zuckermandel - disguise specialist for the
Tribulation Force
  Marshall Jameson - leader of the Avery, Wisconsin, believers
  UNBELIEVERS
  Nicolae Carpathia - leader of the Global Community
  Leon Fortunato - Carpathia's right-hand man



What's Gone On Before
  Judd Thompson Jr. and the rest of the Young
Tribulation Force are living the adventure
of a lifetime. As Lionel and Judd try to get
back to their friends in Wisconsin, Lionel's arm
is trapped beneath a huge boulder, and Judd rushes
for medical help. Lionel realizes his only
option is to amputate his arm.
  Vicki Byrne and the others at the Avery,
Wisconsin, hideout help Cheryl when she goes
into labor. After a few stressful hours, Cheryl
gives birth to a healthy boy, Ryan Victor.
As promised, Cheryl agrees to let tom and
Josey Fogarty care for the child.
  Over the next few months, Judd and Lionel
stay with a new group of believers in Ohio.
Vicki and Judd talk as much as possible, but with
all the GC activity, it isn't safe
to travel.
Vicki despairs over a change in Cheryl's
behavior. The girl has become hostile, and the
Fogartys are afraid she might do something to Ryan.
  In New Babylon, Chang Wong notices
strange reports about a worldwide heat wave. He
watches as the fire burns office workers.
  Join the Young Tribulation Force as they live out
their faith in the most chaotic period of world
history.



  ONE
  The Fourth Bowl
  Judd Thompson Jr. pressed the phone to his
ear and walked to a private place in the Ohio
hideout. Chang had called from New Babylon
to tell Judd about something weird, what he called
the "fourth Bowl Judgment." Chang seemed
excited about what this might mean for believers.
  "Has Dr. Ben-Judah said anything about this?"
Judd said.
  "I haven't heard anything, but you know he'll come
out with something soon."
  Judd flipped on the television as he talked,
but the only local station was off the air. "Back up
and tell me exactly what happened."
  Chang took a breath. "I had been listening
to Carpathia when his secretary said there were strange
reports about a heat wave. Then
I heard shouts near my office. Everyone ran to the
front window, and my boss warned them to get back.
That's when the glass exploded and Rasha ..."
Chang stopped for a moment.
  "Who's Rasha?"
  "She worked near me. We had several conversations
about Judah-ites and all the miraculous things going
on. She was a Carpathia follower, but she was really
scared that something bad was going to happen to her. I
wanted to tell her the truth so many times, but there was
no way. She had Carpathia's mark."
  "What happened to her?"
  "She was at the window when it shattered. Shards of
glass flew everywhere. Rasha and another man were
cut and fell to the floor as the hot air blew into the
room. People went crazy, screaming and running over
each other. One woman tried to help Rasha, but
her hair burst into flames."
  "If that was going on inside, I can't imagine
what happened outside."
  "It was awful," Chang said. "A woman was
walking her dog below us. She let go of the animal and
tried to get inside a car, but she burned her hands
on the door handles. The dog ran in a circle,
trying to find some shade
or relief from the heat, but it finally turned into a
dog torch." Judd shuddered. "And the same thing
happened to people?"
  ""They fell out of their cars. Tires
exploded. I Saw windshields melt.
My boss ordered everyone into the basement."
  "Could you feel the heat?"
  "It was a bit warmer, but I wasn't burned.
I pretended it was hurting though."
  "What happened to Rasha and the other
  guy?
  "They turned into human fire. It was awful. The
others ran for the elevator, but I said I would catch
the next one. I wanted to run to my quarters and
alert the Tribulation Force and you."
  As soon as he was off the phone, Judd logged
on to Tsion Ben-Judah's Web site. Judd
couldn't imagine what the last five years would have
been like without the spiritual direction of this man. His
Web site alone had helped millions come to know
God, and the
  144,000 evangelists God had raised up
had reached more. Judd noticed a new posting from
Tsion and downloaded the file so Lionel and the others
could read it. Tsion wrote:
  My dear friends in Christ, I want you to know that
we have reached another terrible
milestone. For those of you in the former USA and other
places where the sun is yet to rise, the deadly
fourth Bowl Judgment has struck, as
prophesied in the Bible, and every time zone in the world will
be affected.
  Here in Petra, by ten in the morning, people out in the
sun without the seal of God were burned alive. This
may seem an unparalleled opportunity to plead
once again for the souls of men and women, because millions
will lose loved ones. But the Scriptures also
indicate that this may come so late in the hearts of the
undecided that they will have already been hardened.
  Burned alive. Judd couldn't imagine such
horror. He had seen scary movies where people had
been burned, and the images had stuck in his mind.
  Tsion included the Scripture that mentioned the
judgment:
  Revelation 16:8-9 says, "Then the fourth
angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was
given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were
scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of
God who has power over these plagues; and they did
not repent and give Him glory."
Tsion's message continued, explaining as much as he
could, but the man admitted he did not know how long the
heat would last, Judd read the brief message
again. He had so many questions. Was Chang right about being
able to move around during daylight? If cars
had exploded in New Babylon, would the Humvee
they had hidden near the hideout also explode, or
would God somehow spare believers" vehicles?
  Judd wished he could talk with Tsion himself, but he
knew that wasn't possible. He recalled a
conversation with Rayford Steele, who gave his secure
phone number and offered to help in making decisions.
Judd glanced at his watch. Before he called
Vicki with the news, he had to talk with Captain
Steele.
^
  Vicki Byrne hadn't slept well the past
few nights. Cheryl's moods swung like
playground equipment, but the truth was, the situation
with the Fogartys had eased a little. Cheryl had said she
didn't need to see Ryan much anymore, and
Marshall and Zeke were trying to find her another
place to live.
  But Vicki had to admit that Cheryl wasn't the
only reason she was losing sleep.
Members of the Young Tribulation Force had grown
frustrated. Some wanted to take more chances to find people
without the mark of Carpathia. Mark had talked about
leaving the group and traveling, but Zeke had convinced
him to stay.
  The newest members of the group, Ty and
Tanya Spivey, along with the others who had broken
away from Tanya's father's group, had thought the camp
in Wisconsin was the next best thing to heaven when they
arrived. Now they felt disappointed at the conflict.
  "I know we're all human," Tanya had said
to Vicki when they were alone one morning, "but the stuff
with Cheryl and the fighting between Conrad and Shelly upset
me."
  "I'm just as disappointed as you," Vicki said, "but
when we become believers we're not promised that
everything's going to be easy. In a lot of ways,
things got worse when I became a believer."
  "That doesn't seem fair. If God loves
us, wouldn't he help us solve our problems?"
  Vicki couldn't think of a Bible passage that
addressed the subject, and she had to admit she
felt the same way. She wanted God to fix
things. The world's troubles had united the kids for a
time, but each day brought new struggles.
  Something moved outside the cabin, and
she sat up. The moon shone through the casting an eerie
glow. She strained to hear, but all was quiet
  Vicki closed her eyes and prayed for her friends,
especially Judd. If God would bring him back,
she could put up with any problem.
^
  Judd dialed the number to the hideout in San
Diego and took a deep breath.
  "Steele," Rayford answered.
  "I hope I'm not bothering you, Captain. This
is Judd Thompson."
  "Not a problem. What's up?"
  Judd explained what Chang Wong had told
him, and Rayford said he had just gotten off the phone
with Dr. Ben-Judah. "I wanted to ask him if
those with the seal of God would be immune to the heat."
  "My question exactly," Judd said. "What did
Tsion say?"
  "He said they feel some extra warmth there in
Petra and some people are a little tired, but like Chang,
they're not feeling the effects like unbelievers."
  "Then it's true. I could go out tomorrow morning without
the GC knowing about it."
  "It's likely. I told Tsion this could mean
a lot to the Trib Force. As long as we hide before
GC officers come out, we're okay--"
  "Which means you can move supplies around the
country."
  "Exactly. And with the way the groups are begging for
food, this comes at a great time."
  "I'm trying to get to the Wisconsin
hideout. Do you think it would be safe to drive there
tomorrow?"
  "You're talking about Avery, right?"
  "Yes."
  "And what's your location now?"
  Judd told him.
  "I don't know if I'd chance it unless you have some
place to ditch for the night. Wait and see what
happens tomorrow. I'll be talking with our people about
flights to various groups. Maybe you could tag
along."
  "Great. But will planes be able to fly in the heat?"
  "I hope so. You have to understand we have no idea how
long this will last. It could be a few hours, a few
days, or weeks. Tsion cautioned that God has
never been predictable with these plagues. We know the
order they come in, and we used to think that when one ended
the next one began. Now we know they can overlap.
Tsion just doesn't want to see us caught in the open
when the thing ends.
-Me either. But you know the Global Community has
to look at something like us as another nail in their coffin."
  "The world's in bad shape. People are scrounging for
food and the bare necessities. There's no law
except survival. Everybody who's
smart goes out with a gun." "Sort of like the Old
West." "Right, except the good guys are the
evangelists. Yesterday I got a report about
two who preached to a small town in Germany. There were
still a few holdouts to Carpathia's mark, and these
evangelists found them, but before they could finish
speaking, a group of armed men broke into the meeting.
They took all the valuables and Nicks the people had and
then separated the men from the women."
  "I don't like the sound of this." "Neither did I,
until I heard what happened next. It was clear
this gang of thieves was up to no good. But as they were
leading the women outside, an angel appeared at the
door, andwitha couple of words the robbers all fell
dead." "What happened to the others?" "All of them
believed the message and received the mark of God."
Judd shook his head. "I'd almost given up
about any undecided. It seems like everybody's
chosen Carpathia or God."
  "This is the greatest rescue mission the earth has
ever known. On the video reports about the wrath of the
Lamb earthquake, people dug through collapsed
buildings for days, even weeks, looking for just one
survivor. In one hospital, they found a baby
alive fifteen days after the earthquake. I
like to think our mission is the same. We have to keep
digging, keep praying, keep hoping that we'll find
someone who's ready to hear the message."
  "I hadn't thought about it that way," Judd said.
  "People have lost faith in the GC and its leaders.
If there's anyone out there without Carpathia's mark,
and we can get to them, I have to believe they'll choose
the light instead of darkness.they're going to be suffering
as the sun rises every day."
  Judd paused. "But hasn't Dr.
Ben-Judah said God is actually showing mercy with
these judgments?"
  "I asked him about that, and he still thinks the fact that
more plagues are coming means God still wants people
to repent. Most won't and will curse God, but
Tsion supports our efforts to find the remaining
undecided."
  "Then I want to be part of it. And I'll bet
there's a bunch of people in Wisconsin who would too and
some here in Ohio."
  "Let's see what the morning brings," Rayford
said. "In the meantime, call Vicki and tell her
the good news."
  "You know about us?"
  "Chloe told me. My guess is you
two will be back together within a couple of days."
  Judd couldn't help but smile as he hung up.
He had tried to stay reserved with Captain
Steele, but he was sure some of his excitement had
come through on the phone. He quickly dialed Vicki's
number.
^
  Vicki awoke with a start. She couldn't tell how
long she had been sleeping. Was it an hour? two?
The moon had moved little in the window, so she guessed
she hadn't been asleep long.
  Something outside had startled her. Or had it been
a dream? It sounded like Marshall's van, but who could
be taking it this time of night?
  For the first time in a long while, Vicki worried
about the Global Community. What if they had
discovered the remote camp? She wrapped a
blanket around her shoulders, grabbed a flashlight,
and tiptoed outside.
The ground was wet with dew, and the crisp temperature
raised goose bumps on her arms. She headed for the
main cabin where the others usually gathered and saw
footsteps heading toward Josey and tom
Fogarty's cabin. When she pointed the flashlight
at their front door, she noticed it was open a
few inches.
  Someone stirred inside, and a light came on.
  "Mrs. Fogarty?" Vicki whispered.
  A shriek pierced the night.
  Vicki rushed toward the cabin as Tom Fogarty
swung the door open. "Where is he?"
  "Where's who?" Vicki said.
  Josey bounded to the door behind him. "He's gone!
Ryan's gone!"




  TWO
  Missing
  Vicki rushed inside the cabin and saw Ryan's
empty bed. On Ryan's second birthday,
Zeke had given the boy a toddler bed in the shape
of a car. The child's blanket was gone and a stuffed bear
lay on the floor.
Tom Fogarty had run out the door as soon as
Vicki arrived. Josey shook while she ran
around the room, looking under the bed, checking in the
closet. "Sometimes he'll play hide-and-seek and
I won't find him until he laughs, but he's
never run off at night. Ryan started sleeping at
night, you know."
  Vicki took Josey's arm and gently pulled
her onto the bed. "Tell me what happened."
  "We just woke up and he was gone! It's
so chilly outside, and the little thing didn't have shoes
on."
  "I saw footprints outside, but they didn't
look like a child's."
tom Fogarty ran inside breathing hard, his face
pale. Marshall followed him in.
  "Did you find him?" Josey said.
  "We checked Cheryl's cabin," Tom said.
"She's not there."
  "Look in the other cabins," Josey said.
"Check the meeting place or --"
  Marshall held up a hand. "Ma'am, the van's
gone. I usually keep the keys hidden, but somehow
she must have found them."
  "You think Cheryl . . . ?" Josey's voice
trailed off, and her eyes fluttered. Suddenly she
locked eyes with tom. "Then we have to go after him.
We have another car --"
  "Hang on," Marshall said. "We're going after
her and Ryan. Zeke and Mark have gone for the car.
She's gotten a head start, but hopefully she
hasn't gone far."
  While Tom tried to calm Josey, Vicki
followed Marshall outside. "Let me go with you.
When we catch up to her I can --"
  "We've already decided you need to go," Marshall
said. "Get dressed and meet us at the car."
^
  When Judd didn't get an answer in
Wisconsin, he e-mailed Vicki and told her
the latest news. Then he checked on the latest from
the Global Community.
At first, the GC posted all the grisly
pictures. Traffic cameras set up near busy
intersections showed melting car tires and people jumping from
their vehicles. The people just as quickly tried to get
back inside, but the door handles were so hot they
couldn't touch them. Frantic, drivers rushed for
shade or nearby buildings. Shots from these cameras
didn't last long because the cameras themselves went
blank after a few seconds.
  Reporters standing on rooftops showed the
slow-moving arc of the sun as it came over the
horizon. When the rays reached houses, they began
smoking and smoldering. As the sun rose higher,
homes caught fire.
  Reporters ran for their lives inside
buildings, which eventually collapsed from the heat.
Judd found one camera shot from a famous
university. The view was shielded by trees and
looked out on a fountain in the middle of the
campus. As the sun beat down, water bubbled.
Soon it was boiling and steam rose.
  On a gentle slope nearby, a student lay in
the shade holding a book, his head propped up on
a backpack. He sat up when the water boiled.
Suddenly, as trees caught fire and smoke
rose, the boy grabbed his backpack and stood.
"Get out of there," Judd whispered to himself.
  The boy ran but made the mistake of rushing
toward the sunlight. Like a vampire caught in
daylight, the boy turned, shielded his face from the
hot rays, and fell. First his backpack, then the
boy's clothes caught on fire. Finally, he
became part of the burning landscape, with trees,
bushes, and even the grass igniting.
  Judd clicked to one of his favorite sites, which
showed famous beaches. The only cameras operating were
those where the sun hadn't yet risen, but reports
stated the blood was boiling in oceans around the
globe.
  Everywhere the sun reached, people, animals, plant
life, buildings, cars, bridges, and homes were
affected. The world had become the wick of a candle that
was quickly burning up, and Judd wondered how many could
survive another year before the Glorious
Appearing of Jesus Christ.
  Judd wrote his friend Sam Goldberg and asked
for a report from Petra. He wanted to know
exactly what to expect when the sun came up over
Ohio.
^
  Vicki rushed to her cabin and dressed, then met
tom, Marshall, and Mark. It took a few
minutes for them to back the small fourwheel-drive
vehicle from its hiding place. As different people had
traveled to the hideout to see Zeke or join the
group, one problem Marshall and the others had to deal with
was the extra vehicles left in the woods nearby.
The group decided to keep the van handy and hide the
others. A few cars had been driven into the
Mississippi River.
  Vicki and Mark climbed in the back, Marshall
driving and Tom Fogarty beside him. Vicki thought
Tom was perfect for the trip since he had been a
former police officer, but she wondered how he had
convinced Josey to stay behind.
  "Cheryl's obviously been planning this for some
time," torn said. "Vicki, you've talked the most
with her. Has she ever said anything about leaving?"
  Vicki shook her head. "These past few weeks
we haven't talked about much at all.
She's been so grouchy that I've had to leave her
alone."
  The car bounced along the rutted dirt road.
When they reached a paved road, Tom got out and
inspected the area. "Go left," he said.
  Mark reached for the phone and dialed the hideout.
He turned on the speakerphone and asked Conrad
to search the computer for anything Cheryl might have
written.
"Be right back to you," Conrad said.
  "I can't imagine what that little guy's going through
right now," torn said. "Hopefully he'll sleep
through this whole thing until we catch them."
  Conrad called a few moments later. "I found
a deleted message from Wanda, the midwife who
helped deliver Cheryl's baby."
  "What's it say?" Mark said.
  "She was actually writing to Mrs. Fogarty."
  "What?" Tom said. "Josey hasn't had any
contact with her in months."
  "Let me read you the letter," Conrad said.
  "Dear Josey,
  "I'm sorry to hear things have gone so badly with
little Ryan. Babies can be a handful, especially
if he has an illness like you described.
If there's anything I can do from this end to help,
please let me know. Otherwise, your plan to send
Cheryl here with him sounds good. I'd be glad to keep
them with me until they can make other arrangements.
Be advised that I'm in a different location. I'll
include a map on this e-mail, and you can let me
know what you want to do. There's plenty of room
to park the van, so don't worry about that, but be
careful of the GC as you hit town.
  "No matter what happens, know that I'll
be praying for you and your husband and Ryan through this
difficult time. Remember, we serve a great
God who can indeed work miracles."
  Vicki ran a hand through her hair. "Cheryl
wrote to Wanda pretending to be your wife and lied about
Ryan being sick!"
Tom shifted in his seat and pursed his lips.
"Conrad, are there any other deleted messages
there?"
  "I'm checking." Click. Click. "Okay,
found two. The first one looks like . .. yeah, this is
the one where she describes Ryan as having an
illness and that she wants permission for Cheryl to take
Ryan to Wanda's house."
  Marshall rolled to a stop at a major
road and turned off the headlights. "I'm assuming
Wanda is in the same general area where we found her
last time?"
  "Yeah, I'll give directions in a minute,"
Conrad said. "Just head toward her old place."
  "What's the next message say?" Tom said.
  Click. "Oh, boy ... here we go."
  "Dear Wanda,
  "Thanks for your kindness and prayers. The situation
with Ryan has gotten even worse since I last
wrote. Would it be possible,
if we can work it out with Marshall and the others, to have
Cheryl come alone with Ryan and stay at your place?
We would send her in the van.
  "I agree with you that God can work miracles. I
would like nothing better than to have Ryan back, but all
the crying and sleepless nights have Tom and me at the
end of our rope. Cheryl has been so good to help
us. I don't know what we'd have done without her.
We're all praying that God will heal Ryan on the
way to your place. You pray with us and we'll look
for a good report once Cheryl is there."
  "She signs the letter, "Yours in Christ,
Josey.""
Tom slammed his fist so hard on the
glove compartment that Vicki thought he had broken his
hand. Marshall drove as fast as he dared, using the
moonlight to navigate. Conrad read the directions
to Wanda's house, and Mark took notes.
  "Vicki, you have a new message here from
Judd," Conrad said. "And it looks like I've
missed a couple of his calls."
  Vicki smiled. "I'll read it when I get
back."
  "Hang on. Zeke has something to say to you
guys," Conrad said.
  "How's my wife doing?" Tom said.
"As well as can be expected," Zeke said. "She
tore out of the cabin when you left. Took three of us
to get her back to her room and settled down.
Shelly and Darrion are with her, and I've got
Charlie standing watch to make sure nobody bothers
her."
  "What did you want, Zeke?" Marshall said.
  "Well, you know I'm not into bad feelings and that
kinda stuff, but I gotta tell you I'm worried
about you guys and little Ryan."
  "We're going to catch her, believe me," Tom said.
  "I know, but there are GC in that area. I
just looked at their list of arrests in the past two
weeks, and they've made a bunch of surprise
raids. Cheryl could be leading you guys right to the
enemy."
  "Thanks for the heads up," Mark said, "but I
don't think we're going to stop until we find
Ryan."
^
  Judd heard a blip and noticed Sam was sending
a video message from Petra. Judd turned on
the small camera above the screen and saw his friend.
Sam wanted to know how Lionel was doing.
  "He's adjusted pretty well, but he still has
some pain," Judd said. "If we can ever get to
Wisconsin, there's a guy who's been working on some
kind of contraption he thinks Lionel will be able
to use."
  "I suppose you've heard what's going on here
if you've written at this hour," Sam said.
  "Tell me about it," Judd said.
  Sam was inside the communications building, but he
had someone open the door behind him and Judd could see
rock formations in the background. Sam wiped sweat
from his forehead. "It's crazy. Some of us noticed it
was getting a little warmer, but we had no idea there was
a plague until about ten this morning. We
heard screams and rushed to see what it was.
  "There were some stragglers just outside the camp,
undecideds who didn't see the miracle worker.
They were literally burned alive where they stood.
That's when the reports began coming in from all over the
world. We heard from China that everything is dried up,
burned, or melted. No one is on the street,
except for believers. Some GC apparently tried
to use fireproof suits and boots and helmets, but
they didn't get very far. One of our sources says
believers found piles of burning material on the
street."
  "So it's kind of like the locusts--the believers can
move around without fear they're
going to be burned. But one thing still bugs me."
  "What's that?"
  "If all these buildings are falling in and cars
are exploding because of the heat, how do the believers get
around? If they walk, they won't get very far. But
if they try to use a car or a plane, won't they
burn?"
  "I don't know how God's doing it, but it
seems like the vehicles believers use are immune
to the heat. Just like the clothes we wear and our shoes.
The same with the hideouts of believers and the
supplies."
  "Amazing."
  "Dr. Ben-Judah just called for prayer that
God would give wisdom to the Tribulation Force about
how to use this opportunity."
  "Great. But you don't feel anything more than just
being a little bit warm?"
  "Wait a few hours. You'll feel what it's
like soon enough."
  Judd closed his eyes and smiled. For the first time
in months, things would be reversed. Now the GC would
hide during the day and be out at night, and the Young
Trib Force would move around during the day and sleep
at night.


  THREE
  The Search
  Vicki suggested they call Wanda and warn her about
Cheryl, but Marshall reminded her that Wanda didn't
use a phone. Marshall asked Conrad to send an
urgent e-mail to Wanda detailing what they knew.
  As they bounced over back roads, Vicki thought
about all they had been through in the past few years. The
disappearance of her family would have been enough change, but
with the earthquake, the plagues, and Nicolae
Carpathia hunting down and killing
believers, Vicki had little time to think about the past.
Survival was a full-time job, and reaching out to those
who didn't know God was her main mission.
  Still, hardly a day went by that she didn't think of
her family, her friends who had died, and the way things
could have been.
Vicki's nineteenth birthday had come and gone without
anyone remembering. Not even Judd. She didn't
blame anyone, but she still ached for things to return
to normal. Before the disappearances, she had dreamed of
going away to school. She thought a college
degree might help her get a good job, and who
knew, maybe she would find some rich guy and
settle down in a Chicago suburb in a real
house instead of a trailer. But her parents didn't
have the money to send her, and Vicki wasn't
scholarship material, at least back then.
  Vicki wasn't proud of the way she had lived
before the disappearances. She had made bad choices in
friends and in the way she lived. She had put partying
above everything, and she knew she had to tell Judd
about some of those things. Maybe he had skeletons
too.
  Before the vanishings, Vicki hadn't thought of her
life in the long term. If something sounded
fun, she did it. If she thought something would make
her happy, she'd try it. If someone suggested a
tattoo or a piercing, she only thought of what people
would say the next day at school.
  The vanishings and Vicki's new belief in God
had changed all that. Suddenly, the truth about
Jesus and what he had done for
her the reality that God wanted her to dedicate her
life to him, and the fact that there were only seven years
until the return of Jesus made her want
to change. God himself transformed the hopes and
dreams of a normal teenager.
  Vicki could never have dreamed what God would do in
those first few years. She recalled a quote that
summed up her feelings: "The world has not yet seen
what God can do with one person who is totally
committed to him." As Vicki became more aware of
God, his power and love and how much he wanted
to help Vicki, she had grown more confident. In
spite of her weaknesses, God was using Vicki.
  She mulled these things over as they drove into the
night, knowing the others at the hideout would be praying.
She wondered about Judd's e-mail and felt sad
she hadn't asked Conrad to read it to her. It couldn't
be anything embarrassing because Judd and
Vicki had agreed they wouldn't use e-mails
to talk about things that were too personal. When they were
on the phone, they discussed their feelings, but in
e-mails they stuck to the latest news and
happenings. If one or the other did want to say
something
personal they wrote private in the subject
line.
  Mark handed Vicki a stick of gum, and she
thanked him. Vicki couldn't remember the last time
she had had a mint or gum. Mark had kept a
stash of candy from their trip to the GC warehouse and
doled it out at appropriate times. Mark loved
giving Ryan candy, and he had become one of the child's
favorites.
  Vicki stuffed the gum in her mouth and thought of her
parents. Her dad had chewed this type of gum on
Sunday mornings. She remembered him walking
into her bedroom with a fresh minty smell on his
breath, asking, pleading with her to come with them to church.
  "Sun will be coming up in another hour or so,"
Marshall said, breaking the silence in the car.
  "How much farther to Wanda's place?" Vicki
said.
Tom studied Mark's notes. "Wanda
didn't give mileage, but from where her place used
to be, we have to be close."
  "What's our plan?" Mark said.
Tom turned. "We find my boy and--" He
squinted out the back window. Something flickered in his
eyes.
  "What is it?" Vicki said, turning.
  "We've got company," Tom said.
Lights flashed in the distance, and a GC squad car
approached.
  "You think they've seen us?" Vicki said.
  "Everybody, hang on," Marshall said.
"We're pulling into this field, but I won't be able
to use my brakes."
  When the squad car came over a hill and reached
a dip in the road, Marshall took his foot off the
accelerator and turned the wheel sharply, sending them
into a field. Mark gripped Vicki's shoulder and
pulled her down as the car plunged over an
embankment.
  After the car came to a stop a few yards into the
field, Marshall turned off the engine.
"Everybody all right?"
  Everyone said they were, then watched breathlessly as
the GC squad car approached. Vicki
closed her eyes and breathed a brief prayer as the
squad car sped past and continued east. When it
turned a corner, Marshall started the car and pulled
back onto the road.
  "Wonder where that guy was going in such a hurry,"
Mark said.
  "Call Conrad and ask if he's heard from
Wanda," Marshall said. "I don't like seeing the
GC on the prowl."
Tom shook his head a few minutes later.
"No return message yet."
  Mark groaned and put a hand to his forehead.
"Why would Cheryl do this? She knows she's putting us
in danger."
  "Sounds like she's had kind of a meltdown,"
Marshall said. "Having the baby, then placing it in
the Fogartys' house did her in. She's not thinking
rationally."
  "Does that mean she's not a believer anymore?"
Mark said.
  No one spoke.
  Finally, Vicki broke the silence. "God
hasn't abandoned her. Cheryl's turned her back
on what she knows is true and good. I think she'll
come around--"
  "When the GC catch her and chop her head off?"
Tom said. His face was red. "And what about my
son? What happens when they give him one of those
Nicolae tattoos? What's God going to do with
that?"
  The thought of little Ryan getting the mark of
Carpathia frightened Vicki. Judd had told her
about Chang Wong and how he had been drugged and
given the mark against his will. Surely God wouldn't
hold a little one like Ryan responsible for getting the
mark. But the GC would make an example of him,
parading him in front of the cameras, pleased that they
had taken him from the clutches of the evil
Judah-ites.
  "We're going to get to her before they do anything
to him," Vicki said. "Trust me."
"I hope you're right," tom said.
  "And what do we do with Cheryl after we catch her?"
Mark said. "She's a threat to the whole group."
  "We just have to keep praying for her," Vicki said.
"That's all we can do."
Tom settled in his seat. "As far as I'm
concerned, I don't want that girl within a hundred
miles of my family."
  The group drove toward glimmers of
flashing lights ahead. Finally, they slowed near a
decaying gas station on the outskirts of a town.
Two sets of lights flickered against a building in
the distance, but Vicki couldn't see the GC car.
  "From these directions," Tom said, "it looks like
we can turn left here and take the back road
to Wanda's."
  Marshall stroked his stubbly beard and glanced in the
rearview mirror. "I don't know about you guys,
but I'd like to see what those GC caught."
  "Same here," Mark said.
  Vicki nodded.
Tom pointed at the gas station and suggested they
pull behind it. Quietly they all got out, but Tom 
told Mark and Vicki to wait.
  Mark rolled his eyes and got back in the
car. "I hate it when older people treat you like a
kid."
  "They're both stressed about Ryan. It's nothing
personal."
  "Yeah, well, I still liked it better when we
called our own shots. The most exciting thing we've
done since coming to Avery is go to that warehouse, and we
had to sneak around to do that."
  Vicki noticed a lightening in the clouds
peeking over the horizon. "We have to get to Wanda's
quickly if we want to beat the daylight."
  Mark tapped his fingers against the armrest, and
Vicki strained to see around the back of the gas station.
Another GC squad car approached, then passed
the station and turned down a street a few blocks
away.
  Minutes passed and their friends didn't return.
"Maybe they found something," Mark said.
  The phone rang and Vicki answered. It was
Conrad. "Hold on for this one, Vicki. You're not
going to believe it. Zeke and I have been watching
reports along the East Coast, and some weird
stuff is going on. People are getting burned up.
GC and anybody with the mark of Carpathia is at
risk."
  "What do you mean, burned up?"
  "Hang on--we're getting onto Dr. Ben
Judah's Web site. Okay, here it is." He
paused, reading through the material. "Does the fourth
Bowl Judgment ring a bell?"
  Vicki thought a moment. "Wait, isn't that the
one where the angel is given power to burn people with
fire?"
  "Bingo. And it looks like it's happened
everywhere the sun's shining. Do you realize what this
means?"
  "A lot of people are going to die."
  "Yeah, but if believers aren't affected, which is
what I assume from what I've read of Dr.
Ben-Judah's letter, we'll be able to move around
during the day."
  "What's Conrad want?" Mark said.
  "Conrad, thanks. I'll get back to you."
  Vicki explained what Conrad had told her and
looked toward the horizon. For so long, the sun had
caused fear among believers. Now they might not have
to be scared of daylight.
  "It's been twenty minutes," Mark said. "I
think we ought to see what's going on."
  "Let's wait another five minutes--"
  "Fine, you can stay where you are, but I'm going."
  Vicki got out with Mark, switching the phone
to vibrate. They stayed away from the street, walking
in the same direction as Marshall and tom, and cut
through a hedge.
A dog barked in the distance as they skirted a fence and
crept through an open area. A few houses were
scattered about--some abandoned, others well kept.
  The squad-car lights became brighter, but
there was still no sign of Marshall or Tom.
  A two-story apartment building loomed before them.
They walked to the right, stepping gingerly past old
barbecues and gardening tools stacked at the end of the
building. They stayed low, creeping onto the scene
like two cats searching for prey. Mark dropped
to his knees, and Vicki followed as they crawled
to the top of a knoll and spotted the squad
  cars near a van.
  A child cried out, and Vicki recognized Ryan.
The officers had Cheryl against the front of the van,
her hands cuffed behind her. A little farther up the street
two officers laughed and pointed at something on the
ground. Vicki crawled five feet to her left and
gasped. Marshall and Tomlay facedown in the
street, their hands behind them.



  FOUR
  The Chase
  Vicki focused on Ryan, who was still inside the
van and being cared for by a female officer. The child
cried for his mama and struggled with the officer.
  "It's okay," Cheryl yelled, tears streaming
down her face. "We're going to be okay."
  One of the officers near Tom and Marshall keyed
his radio. "Two males, one female, and
one child. All unmarked."
  Vicki wondered if Tom or Marshall had
ID'S on them. If the GC found out Tom was a
former GC officer, they'd take him in for questioning.
  Vicki's heart wrenched every time Ryan cried out.
She wanted to rush in and grab him but couldn't.
  "They must have jumped Tom and
Marshall," Mark whispered. "What do you want
to do?"
  Vicki glanced at the sky. It would still be a few
minutes before the sun rose. "Let me pull the car
around. I'll get their attention and see if they
take the bait."
  "What'll you do if they follow?" 
"I'll try to lead them into the light. You see what you can do for
Tom and the others." 
"Maybe I should take the car--"
"No. You'll be better at helping them. Let
me go." Vicki scooted backward quietly and
ran to the car. The keys were still in the ignition, and
Vicki started it and pulled onto the road. She
had the sick feeling that perhaps the plague of burning
fire wouldn't hit Wisconsin like it had the rest of the
world. Could it be over? If so, Vicki and the others were
in deep trouble.
  Vicki pulled slowly onto the main
road and looked at the surrounding hills. The town
lay in a valley, so until the sun was higher, there
would be patches of shade throughout the area. She stopped
in the middle of the road and focused on trees on the
ridge. A thin trail of smoke rose like a white
snake. Was it some kind of illusion? or dust? The
longer she looked, the more convinced she became that it was
smoke.
Vicki rolled her window down, peering up at the
eerie sight. A spark, then a flash of fire
broke out at the tops of trees. As sunlight
spread farther, more leaves and branches were caught in
the blaze.
  A voice brought Vicki back to reality. "You
want to step out of the car, miss?"
  A man in uniform stood a few feet in front
and to the left of Vicki's car. She hadn't heard
him approach, and her heart raced wildly when he
took a step closer. "Keep your hands where I can
see them and get out--"
  Vicki punched the accelerator and threw herself
flat on the seat. A gun fired and glass
shattered, but she kept her foot down, one hand on
the steering wheel. She peeked over the dashboard in
time to see she was headed for the curb and swerved
as another shot smashed the back windshield, the
bullet crashing into the car radio.
  As Vicki reached the street where the van was
stopped, two GC officers pointed their guns and
fired, the other rushing to his car. Vicki ducked
again and floored it, hoping none of them would shoot her
tires.
  She made it past the first few houses and looked
up. Before her stretched a wide-open road that led
toward the hillside.
^
Mark waited until he heard the first shot. The
GC radio went crazy when the officer reported
another unmarked citizen nearby. Mark counted four
officers firing as Vicki passed. The female
officer carried Ryan away from the van and placed
him on the ground near Tom and Marshall.
  As the other officers roared away in two of the
squad cars, the female officer walked back
to Cheryl, and Mark saw his chance. He raced down a
slight embankment, careful to keep the van between him
and the officer. Cheryl screamed for Ryan.
  He reached the back of the van and knelt as the
officer pushed Cheryl toward Tom and Marshall.
Mark breathed a quick prayer. He wasn't sure
what to do, but something told him to get Ryan
first.
  He duck-walked to the squad car, which was still
running, and reached through the open window. He tried
to throw the car into gear, but it wouldn't go. He glanced
back and noticed Marshall had seen him.
  "There's something crawling on my legs!"
Marshall yelled at the officer. "Come over here and
get it off!"
  Mark quietly opened the door, got in, pushed
the brake pedal, and put the car in
drive. The car moved slowly forward as he
scampered away.
  As soon as Mark was hidden from view, Marshall
shouted, "Hey, looks like your car's going on a
trip!"
  The officer cursed, and Mark heard footsteps
approaching. When the woman passed, he sprinted
toward his friends. Mark raced with lightning speed toward
Ryan and with one swoop gathered the boy up and darted
away. "Marky!" Ryan said as they ran. The boy
giggled, and Mark tried to quiet him. Finally, he
put a hand over Ryan's mouth. Mark rushed behind a
garage and peered out long enough to see that the female
officer had stopped the car. Mark held Ryan
tight while he rushed for the abandoned gas
station.
^
  Vicki gunned the engine and flew toward the
hills. She couldn't see the sun yet, but she could
see its effect. A trail of smoke rose from the
top of the ridge. If she could reach the curve above
her, which looked no more than two miles away, she
had a chance.
  She flicked on her lights and kept an eye
on the rearview mirror. Racing out of the small
town were two squad cars, lights flashing.
  Vicki sped up and hit a curve at full
speed,
her tires dropping off the edge of the pavement, then
hopping back on. The squad cars gained ground, so
she mashed her foot to the floor and flew down the
sloping road and toward the hill. She had to slow
to make the next curve, and the car bogged down and the
engine revved.
  A squad car pulled in directly behind her and
another raced beside her. She glanced to her left
quickly enough to see there was only one officer in the car.
Sirens blared, and someone on a bullhorn ordered
her to pull over. Vicki kept her hands glued to the
steering wheel and looked to her right. The hill still
blocked the sunlight.
  "Pull over now!"an officer shouted.
^
  Mark gasped for air and held Ryan tightly
against his chest. The boy had giggled as Mark ran from
the scene, as if they were playing a game. "Candy,"
Ryan said.
  Mark handed him a soft piece of candy and patted
the child's back as they reached the gas station. He
expected to see the squad car speed toward them at
any moment.
  "Marky!" Ryan said, looking around.
  "Yeah, Marky's here. Now we need to be really
quiet."
Ryan put his hand out. "Blankie! Uh ... uh!
Blankie!"
  ""We're going to get your blanket, but we
need to be quiet, okay?"
  Ryan wrinkled his nose. "Blankie ..."
  Mark wished he could have helped Tom and
Marshall, but there wasn't time. And if Conrad was
right about the heat plague, he wouldn't have to stay hidden
long before the GC officers realized the wrath of
God.
  The gas station was padlocked. Even the rest
rooms around the back were sealed shut. If anyone
came out of their houses or happened to drive
by, he and Ryan would be seen.
  "Hey," someone whispered.
  Mark looked around. On a hillside were a few
houses. On the other side was a vacant lot with
weeds and bushes. "Over here," a man said.
  Mark focused on what looked like a manhole
cover that was slightly open. A hand waved Mark
forward. Could it be a GC trick? If so, why would
the GC be hiding underground?
  Mark looked at the street. No squad car.
He hugged Ryan tightly and made a run for the
hole. The cover swung open, and a man with a
scraggly beard reached out for the boy.
Ryan grabbed Mark's neck and whined. "Scared!
Scared!" 
"It's okay, buddy. I'm with you."
^
  Vicki heard the ping of bullets off the back of
her car and swerved to her right. The car shook, and she
smelled something like rubber burning. A glance in the
side mirror showed smoke rising from the car. The
GC had shot one of her tires.
  As she slowed, Vicki noticed sunshine
creeping around the mountain. She floored the
accelerator and pulled forward as far as she could. When
she stopped, the front half of her car was in
sunshine, the back in shadows.
  "Get out and lay facedown on the pavement!" a
GC officer barked.
  Vicki opened the door, her hands in front of
her. When she closed the door, one of the officers
cursed and yelled for her to get down. Immediately
Vicki felt a rise in temperature, not
unbearable, but definitely hotter.
  She lay down, her face near the pavement. The
tar bubbled slightly. As a girl, she had ridden
her bike on hot asphalt, and this reminded her of the
sticky tar on her shoes and tires at the end of the
day.
"I'm unarmed," Vicki said. "There's no reason
to shoot."
  "Shut up!" an officer shouted.
  A man with a dark mustache keyed his radio,
calling their partner who had been left behind. "We have
the runner. Everything okay back there?"
  A female officer spoke, her voice shaky.
"The girl and two men are still here, but I've lost the
kid."
  "What do you mean, you lost him?"
  "My squad car must have slipped into gear while
I put him down. When I got back he was
gone."
  "I'm heading back there," Officer Mustache said
to the other two.
  "All three of you'd better leave," Vicki
said.
  Officer Mustache turned, his hand on his pistol.
"I thought we told you to be quiet."
  Vicki pushed herself to a sitting position on the
hot pavement and noticed that where her shadow fell, the
pavement remained cool. "Has the GC contacted
you about what's going on with the sun?"
  The three looked at each other but didn't
respond. Vicki pulled her knees to her chest.
Trees on the other side of the road sizzled and
popped. "You hear that? When the sun
reaches you and your cars, what's happened all over the
world is going to happen to you."
  "What's she talking about?" a younger officer said.
  "You see how this road is bubbling? Look at the
smoke behind me on the hillside. There's something
going on here, and you guys had better pay
attention."
  "Cuff her and bring her back to town," Officer
Mustache said.
  The younger officer moved toward Vicki, pulling
handcuffs from his belt. As he got closer,
he stared at the bubbling asphalt. "Sir, this tar
over here is--"
  But Officer Mustache was already in his car, backing
away and speeding down the hill.
  The younger officer glanced at the trees. Every
minute the sunshine inched closer.
  "Go ahead and cuff her and get her in the car," the
older officer said.
  "What if she's right about the sun? You know we had
that report from the East Coast before we left the
station."
  "Just cuff her and we'll get out of here."
  The younger officer walked toward Vicki, his face
contorted. He took a step into the sunshine and
lifted his boot. Hot, gooey tar stuck to it.
"Stand up and move over here," the officer said.
  Vicki remained seated. The officer threw the
handcuffs to her and told her to put them on.
  "You'll have to come over here and get me," Vicki
said.
  "Go get her," the older officer shouted.
  The younger man pursed his lips, hesitated, then
walked into the light. At first he didn't seem to have
a problem, other than the sticky road. But when
Vicki handed the cuffs to him, he screamed and
dropped them.
  Frightened, the man turned to his partner, holding his
hand in front of him. "She made those handcuffs
hotter than fire. It left a mark on my hand!"
  "This is the fourth Bowl Judgment," Vicki
said. "The Bible says if you're following the evil
ruler of this world, you're going to be scorched with
fire."
  The other officer marched toward Vicki rolling his
eyes. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and
when he reached to retrieve the handcuffs, a blister
raised on his forearm. The man cursed and moved into the
shadows, rubbing his arm and sneering. "I hate your
God and his plagues! No wonder Nicolae
wants you and the rest of your kind dead."
  The officer reached for his gun and pulled
it from its holster. By now the sun had moved forward,
and the officers had to step back. Vicki scrambled
to the other side of her car as the man fired.
  "Come on," the younger officer said. "Let's get
out of here before it's too late."
  The officers hurried to the car and backed away,
tires squealing.
  Vicki breathed a sigh of relief. It would be a
long day for the GC in Wisconsin



  FIVE
  Mark's New Friend
  MARK crawled into the darkened hole and down
rickety stairs. The man inside looked like a
castaway from a deserted island. His clothes were
dirty and tattered, his beard long enough to touch his chest,
and his skin pale.
  "You're takin" a big risk out there in daylight
without the mark," the man said. "Is this your little
brother?"
  Mark studied the man's forehead, but there was no
mark of the believer or of Nicolae. "No, this is
Ryan. The GC stopped his mom just up the
street."
  "I knew you wasn't GC," the man said.
"Come with me."
  Ryan clung to Mark's neck as they walked through
the room, ducked their heads, and went into another.
Mark's eyes adjusted to
the dim light, provided by some sort of lamp
system around the room.
  "Feels like it's gettin' hot out there," the man
said. "I've seen the reports."
  "What reports?" Mark said.
  The man ran a hand over a computer and
wiped dust from the screen. "I have to clean everything about
once a day." He flicked the computer on and
called up images he had saved. Fires
engulfed buildings along the East Coast. Scenes
of horror Mark could never have imagined flashed, and
Mark turned so Ryan couldn't see.
  "I expect the same thing's gonna happen here,
you think?"
  "I'm pretty sure it is."
  "Then we need to get your friends off the street, or
they'll get burned up."
  "There's only one way to make sure we don't
get burned," Mark said. "What's your name?"
  "Clemson Stoddard," he said, reaching a hand out.
"I've been down here since the start of the big war.
I was scared of the nuclear stuff at first, but then I
kind of liked being out of sight. You're one of the first
visitors I've had in ages."
  "What is this place?" Mark said.
  "There used to be an oil-change place behind the
garage. They leveled it after the
disappearances, but since I owned the land, I just sealed
it up without anybody knowing Lamps are kerosene.
I tapped onto an electric line for my computer
and the freezer. Got enough food down here to feed
you and your friends for quite a while."
  "Why haven't you taken Carpathia's mark?"
  Clemson scowled. "He's creepy, don't you
think? All that coming back from the dead business.
Killin' people for not puttin' one of his tattoos on.
I'm gonna ride this one out-- that's what I'm
going to do."
  "Have you seen anything about Dr. BenJudah on the
Web?"
  "Yeah, I've read some of his stuff. I don't
mind tellin' ya I'm not into religion. I try
to live a good life and help people, but I don't go in
much for church and all that Jesus stuff, if you know
what I mean."
^
  Vicki watched the squad car race down the
hill and take the turns way too fast. She thought
the car would flip, but the driver slowed enough around
curves to keep it on the road. Up ahead, the
sun cast a golden glow. The car sped up to a
frightening speed, but before it could reach the shade of some
trees ahead, it spun out. From Vicki's perch she
saw little puffs of smoke come from each tire.
  The squad car came to rest in the middle of the
road, blocking both lanes. To her horror, a
large truck pulling a huge tank bore
down on them from the other direction. The truck tried
to stop, but its tires were melting before her eyes, the
wheels sliding on the road like melting chocolate
donuts.
  The two officers jumped from their vehicle a
second before the truck collided with the car. An
explosion rocked the valley, sending a ball of
flame into the air, and the officers fell. One finally
stood, thrusting a fist toward the sky before his body was
consumed in flames.
  Vicki fell to her knees in horror. She
covered her face as the smoke and smell of the fire
reached her. "God, help me get back to Ryan
and Cheryl and the others and let them be all right."
^
  Mark knew Clemson was in serious trouble. He
had avoided the Global Community and stayed out of
sight from others in the town, but he had no protection
from the plagues. Mark discovered the man had been
stung by
one of the locusts, which had entered through an air vent, but
he had obviously avoided the deadly horsemen and
hadn't been affected by the wrath of the Lamb
earthquake.
  "Look, I need to tell you some important
stuff, things that will save your life, but I have
to check on my friends. Would you mind keeping my little
buddy here until I get back?"
  "Not a problem," Clemson said. He pulled out
a pack of gum and held it up.
  "He's too young for that. He just swallows it."
  "Right. Well, let me think what else I have
here...."
  "Do you sing?" Mark said.
  Clemson furrowed his brow. "What kind of question
is that?"
  "He likes "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star" and "Hush, Little Baby.""
  "Twinkle!" Ryan said.
  Clemson laughed, the corners of his eyes
wrinkling with delight. "I can give you my country
version of that, if you don't mind. Maybe even a
little "You Are My Sunshine"?"
  "Sunshine!" Ryan said.
  Ryan went to Clemson with his arms outstretched.
He seemed fascinated with the
man's long beard and pulled at it. "You know how
long it's been since I laughed out loud, little
guy?"
  "Thanks for doing this," Mark said, but I have
to warn you. Don't go outside. Don't
even go near the opening. The sun's going to be really
hot, and it'll no doubt burn you." "We'll be
all right."
  When Mark opened the trapdoor, sunlight
flooded into the hidden room. He smelled smoke and
heard dry weeds crackling. The last thing he heard
before he closed the trapdoor was the warbly sound of
Clemson's voice softly singing "Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star."
^
  Vicki jogged down the hillside as the sun
came over the mountain. She expected everything
to burst into flames around her, but it didn't. A
small stream flowing past the road bubbled and hissed
as steam rose, but trees only a few yards away
seemed unaffected. Plastic mailboxes melted
and pooled on the ground, basketball backboards
wilted like dead flowers, and electric lines strung
overhead snapped. Vicki had to be careful that she
didn't go near any of the downed wires or get
hit by falling debris.
Rushing toward town, she noticed another eerie sound
overhead. She finally spotted an airplane flying
just over the tops of some trees. With its wings on
fire, the small plane looked like it was trying
to land. Suddenly, the engine's whine stopped,
a wing broke off, and the aircraft plunged. It
disappeared in some trees, and another explosion
rocked the hillside.
  Vicki wiped sweat from her forehead and kept
running.
^
  Mark made it to the street where Tom, Marshall,
and Cheryl sat and gasped when the female officer
pointed her gun at them. Buildings behind the woman
blocked the sunshine, but from the sweat stains on the
woman's shirt, Mark knew she was feeling the
heat. A GC squad car squealed to a stop near
the group, and a mustached officer jumped out, yelling
at the woman. Mark wasn't close enough to hear, but
he figured the man knew they had only a few
minutes to get away. But where's Vicki?
  The woman keyed her radio and called for the other
officers, but they didn't answer.
  Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the
valley, and a plume of smoke and fire rose
into the sky from the east. Mark was close enough now to hear
some of the conversation. It sounded like Marshall Jameson
and Tom Fogarty were urging the GC officers to find
shelter in one of the nearby buildings.
  A buzzing from overhead distracted the group, and
Mark saw a small plane with its wings on
fire trying desperately to land. It disappeared behind
the buildings, and seconds later they heard the
explosion.
  "This must be another judgment from God!" Marshall
said. "You need to get out of here--"
  "You want us to leave so you can get away,"
Officer Mustache said. "All of you get up and
into the car now."
  Something on the hillside distracted Mark. An
empty car burst into flames, sending a shower of
sparks into the air. Mark panicked. He knew his
friends were protected from the plague, but what if they were
in a car with unbelievers?
  Before he could do anything, the two officers had all
three of his friends in the back of the squad car. A
house on the hillside crackled, and the roof began
to smoke.
  Mark moved to his left, toward the main road.
When the car was a few yards away, he ran into the
road and waved wildly. The
squad car was in sunlight, and Mark was afraid it
might explode.
  Officer Mustache honked his horn and swerved,
trying to avoid hitting Mark, but Mark moved right in
the car's path. The man slammed on his
brakes and stopped a few inches away. Sweat
poured from the man's face.
  The female officer gasped for air, threw the
door open, and drew her gun. "On the ground!"
she screamed, her gun pointed at Mark's chest.
Suddenly, she dropped the weapon and danced on the
pavement like a child running from the tide at the beach.
Her ponytail bounced behind her while she ran
away from the car in circles. Finally, her hair
sprouted flames, and she glowed like a human
blowtorch.
  Officer Mustache exited the car and immediately put
a hand over his head. Sparks flew from his mustache,
and he fell and rolled.
  Mark turned away, unable to watch. The
officers' screams faded quickly as their bodies were
consumed. Mark opened the back doors, and his friends
scooted out.
^
  Vicki came upon the squad car and her four friends
and couldn't help crying. The two GC
officers lay at the side of the road in ash heaps.
Vicki wiped away her tears and found the keys to the
handcuffs near the female's body. Vicki
released Cheryl, Tom, and Marshall before turning
to Mark. "Where's Ryan?"
  "Come on. I'll show you."
  They walked in silence through the town. A few
streets over they heard screaming as more fires
broke out. Vicki felt like she was walking through the
fiery furnace, like the three Old Testament
believers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But
this was no furnace--it was the real world burning at the
hand of an angry God. Vicki couldn't help but
think of hell. She knew there were some who believed it
wasn't a real place, but the more she looked around,
the more she was convinced that the Bible was true and that hell
had to exist.
  Mark led them to Clemson's hideout and opened the
trapdoor. Vicki heard singing inside and smiled
when she realized Ryan was picking up the words to
"You Are My Sunshine."
  Vicki caught Cheryl's arm and told the others
to go inside. Cheryl pulled away and said she needed
to see Ryan.
  "We need to talk first," Vicki said.
  Cheryl nodded and turned as Vicki closed the
entrance. They walked to the middle of
the empty lot, and Cheryl folded her arms. "I
know what you're going to say, and I deserve whatever
it is you guys have decided to do."
  "We haven't decided to do anything yet. I
want to hear it from you--why did you lie to Wanda and
take Ryan?"
  Cheryl sat in the dirt and buried her head in her
hands. "I was so jealous of what Josey had with
Ryan. I had done all the work and had gone through
all the pain, and she was getting the reward. That little
boy was part of me. I felt him growing inside me.
Being that close to him was just torture."
  "We never should have let you stay that close to him,"
Vicki said. "If I had it to do over again, I'd
have gone with you to another location."
  "Where?" Cheryl said. "I don't want to be
anywhere but with Ryan."
  Vicki kept quiet as Cheryl cried. She had
hoped Cheryl would say she was sorry for taking
Ryan, but she seemed to be making excuse after
excuse.
  "Being cooped up at that camp didn't help.
There's nothing to do, and every time I saw Ryan I
thought about us being together, just him and me. That's how it should
have been."
  "How did you plan it?"
  "The van? I watched Marshall and figured
out where he kept his keys. It took a
while, but I finally got them. All that time I
planned where I would go. At first, I was going to just
drive and ask God to show me a place. Then I
got scared and decided to write Wanda."
  "We found your e-mails to her."
  Cheryl smacked her forehead. "I thought I'd
deleted those."
  "Cheryl, you made a promise to Josey and
Tom. You know you can't give Ryan the kind of
home--"
  "I'm his mother! There's only a little more than a
year before Jesus comes back, and I can do as much for
him as anybody."
  "I think you've ruined that now. How can we trust
you when you kidnap--"
  "My own son?"
  "When you get so moody and won't talk and then
endanger all of us by kidnapping a member of the
group?"
  Vicki watched Cheryl stare at the fires raging
on the hillside. She didn't know what to say and
silently prayed, "God, please show Cheryl
where's she's been wrong. Help her to see the truth
about what she's done and admit her mistakes. And
give us wisdom with what to do with her.
Amen."



  SIX
  Clemson's Decision
  Judd Thompson Jr. and Lionel Washington
walked out of their Ohio hideout in daylight for the first
time since they had arrived. It was difficult convincing
others that it was safe to venture out. When everyone read
Dr. Ben-Judah's latest message and heard
what was going on around the world, they finally let Judd
and Lionel go.
  Judd uncovered the Humvee, and the two headed
away from the hiding place. They were in a remote
area, so it took them a few minutes to reach a
town, but when they did, Judd wished they hadn't
come.
  They crossed a river that bubbled like someone was
boiling macaroni. The Humvee was engulfed in
white-hot steam, then quickly passed through to the other
side. They sped by a brick school, smoke
billowing through open
windows. Playground equipment lay bent and
twisted, melting from the intense heat that neither Lionel
nor Judd could feel. To them, it seemed like a hot
summer day in Chicago, not the inferno that
unbelievers felt.
  The sky was cloudless so the sun beat down. The
normally light blue heavens reflected an
orange-yellow from fires on the ground. Homes and
businesses smoked and smoldered, threatening fire at
any moment.
  Judd saw no airplanes or choppers above
them. He wondered what a large airport would
look like with fires breaking out on grounded planes.
What an awful smell boiling blood must be in the
oceans, he thought.
  In a residential section of town, Lionel
pointed out finely manicured lawns that had turned
from deep green to brown as the grass went up in
flames.
  They neared a convenience store and slowed when the roof
began to curl under the oppressive heat. Huge
windows in front burst, spreading glass all the
way to the street. Judd backed up a safe distance
as hoses to gas pumps melted. A few minutes
later the whole thing exploded.
  "How is anybody surviving this?" Lionel
said.
  Judd shook his head. "I guess they have to get
underground. But a lot of people in basements
are going to have their houses fall on them."
  Judd saw a fire department's door open, and
an engine rushed out. Firefighters in full gear
bounced inside as the truck rolled onto the
street. But as soon as the engine hit the street,
GC flags on the truck burst into flames.
Firefighters flailed their arms and struggled against
their seat belts. The red truck slowed, its
massive tires melting and spreading onto the
pavement. First the driver, then the rest abandoned
ship, running toward the firehouse. Before they reached
the driveway, they burst into flames. One
firefighter ran to the back, managed to turn the
water on, and pointed the hose toward his coworkers.
Boiling water scalded his friends. They screamed and
fell before catching on fire.
  Lionel trembled. "It's not even the hot part
of the day, and people are dying. Any idea how long this will
last?"
  "We don't know. Let's get back to the
hideout and figure out when to head north."
^
  Mark had learned a long time ago that a person
didn't become a believer in God simply because of
information, so he had to resist the urge to spell
everything out for Clemson.
Instead, he asked Clemson about his
family, where he had grown up, and his church
background.
  "I've never been too big on church. My
parents went, but I didn't want anything to do with
it. I've always felt the Lord knows a person without
them having to get dressed up in fancy clothes and
making a big show."
  "Did you lose anybody in the disappearances?"
  "Yeah, lots of people wound up missing. I lived
with my mother back then, taking care of her. She was
usually up and cookin' breakfast each morning,
listenin' to the radio preachers and singin' gospel
songs. But that day it was just as quiet as a
graveyard. I went out to the pump house to get some
apple butter for my toast, and I checked on her,
thinkin' somethin' might have happened. Well, you know
what I found. Her bed was empty."
  "What do you think happened?"
  Clemson stroked his beard and picked up a
picture of an older woman with shoulderlength
hair. "To this day, I don't know what to think. I
guess it could have been some kind of sign from God, but
I don't know." He paused. "What do you think?"
  Mark ran a hand through his hair. He didn't
want to preach, but he didn't want to hold
back either. "My friends and I have found out that God
really exists and that he cares for each of us. In
fact, he cared so much that he predicted everything
that's happening right now."
  "Even this heat wave?"
  Mark nodded. "He predicted there would be a
ruler that would arise who would lead people away from the truth
--"
  "Carpathia. I think he's the Antichrist."
  "You're right. And the Bible predicted the worldwide
earthquake, the stinging locusts--"
  "I hated them things."
  "--and even that people would reject his truth, in spite
of all the miraculous signs."
  "I don't reject anything God does. I
believe we all ought to live by the Golden Rule and
love others. I've prayed to God before."
  "What did you say?"
  Clemson shrugged. "I asked him for food and
to help me find a safe place to stay, that kind of
thing."
  "Did he answer?"
  Clemson wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Sure did. There's lots of people who've been
carted off by the GC from around here or who have
turned in people without the mark for the reward. I've been
protected."
  Mark drew closer and got down on one
knee. "Clemson, it's not enough just to believe that
God exists. The Bible says that the demons
believe that. Even Carpathia believes in God."
  "I don't think God cares about an old boy
like me. He's got plenty to think about without worrying
about my troubles."
  "So God's not big enough to care for you? To help you
find food and shelter?"
  "I don't know...."
  "The reason we came here was to find that little boy in
the next room. But I think God had a bonus in
mind." Mark squinted. "Have you been asking God for
anything lately?"
  "Such as?"
  "A sign? Maybe some help? Praying that if
God's real, he'd show you and send somebody?"
  The man turned white. "How did you know that?"
  "I didn't. It was a guess. But since
we've found you, I figured God had prepared the
way."
  Clemson walked to the other side of the room and
sat on a rickety stool. "It gets
kind of lonesome. I had a dog that stayed with me, but
he died about a year ago. He used to stay right beside
me like he was scared of what was going on outside."
His smile faded. "Being' all alone gets you
to thinking, and I
guess over the past few months I've been
wonderin' whether or not God was up there and if he
cared about all the people dyin'. You think he does?"
  "I think the reason that all this bad stuff has
happened is that God cares more than any of us can
imagine. He wants people to come to know him, to ask
forgiveness for their sins, even though he knows that most people
will spit in his face."
  "Well, if you're so religious why are you still
here?"
  "One of the reasons he's left us here is so we
could reach out to people and help them come to know Jesus
personally." Mark told his story briefly, how
he had become a true believer in Jesus after the
disappearances and had joined the Young Tribulation
Force. "I thought I knew God before all this
happened, and I thought a lot of other people were just playing
church. Some were. But most of my friends who asked
me to go to church with them had something I didn't have."
  "And what was that?"
  "They knew they were forgiven by God because of what
Jesus did on the cross. You see, he died so
that you could live forever with God and so that you could have a
relationship with him right now."
Vicki, Marshall, and Cheryl walked quietly
into the room, and Clemson looked up. "And it
happened the same way with you people?"
  "My parents were these religious nutcases,"
Vicki said. "They wanted me to go to church with them and
read my Bible. I thought Christians were just people who
didn't want to have any fun. Now I know the
truth, that you can have real life, something that lasts, if
you give your life to God."
  Clemson stared at the floor. "From what I can
gather, you people came searching for that little boy because one of
you ran off with him. How did that happen?"
  No one spoke for a long time. Finally, Cheryl
folded her arms and her chin quivered. "Just because we
believe in God doesn't mean we'll always make
the right decisions." She looked at Vicki and
frowned. "I made a big mistake. I can see
that now. And there's nothing I can do to make up for it.
But I know God is in the business of forgiving people."
  Mark looked at Clemson squarely. "Would you
like to ask God to forgive you and ask him to come
into your life?"
  Clemson rubbed his neck with a hand. "I don't
know. This has all come on kind of sudden-like. I
need some time."
  "I understand. But we have to head back, and you need
to know that if you go outside
during the day without God's protection, you'll die.
It's as simple as that."
  "I can't make this decision just because I want
to live longer."
  "Right," Mark said. "But there's no guarantee
you'll be alive tomorrow. Half the people in the world have already
died. Most of those who were stung by locusts cursed
God. But you've been given a second chance.
All of us have, and we want to urge you to take it right
now."
Tom Fogarty came into the room with Ryan. The
child was humming a crude version of "Jesus Loves
Me," and Clemson smiled. "I swear it'd be
worth it just to have that kid around. There hasn't been much
to smile about the past few years."
  Mark held out his hands, and Ryan came to him.
"Jesus once called a small child over to him and
put the kid right in front of the people he was talking
to." Mark stood Ryan in front of
Clemson, then clicked on the kids' Web site
and found the verse he was looking for. "Jesus said,
"I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and
become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of
Heaven. Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this
little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.""
"What's that mean, exactly?" Clemson said.
  "A little kid depends on others. Ryan can't do
much on his own. But he trusts us to take care of
him, feed him, and help him. God wants you to put
that kind of trust in him."
  "I said I didn't want to go to church because it was
a show," Clemson said. "The truth is, most of
those people in church knew what kind of things I did.
Bad things. And I bet if you knew, you wouldn't be
so quick to help me."
  "Every one of us in this room has sinned," Mark
said. He glanced at Cheryl and noticed she had
covered her face with her hands. "Because we're
sinners, a holy God can't allow us into his
presence. That's why he sent his only Son,
Jesus, to die for us on the cross. It was his
sacrifice in our place that guarantees our
forgiveness if we'll ask for it."
  "I've always believed in Jesus, that he
was God, you know, but I've never really done anything
about it."
  "Do it now." Mark showed Clemson more verses from
the Bible that spoke of God's love. The one that
seemed to click with the man came from Romans:
  Therefore, since we have been made right in God's
sight by faith, we have peace with
God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has
done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us
into this place of highest privilege where we now stand,
and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing
God's glory.
  "So you're saying I can be right with God and not have
to worry about any of this Carpathia stuff?"
  "Becoming a believer doesn't mean all your
problems go away, but as the Bible says, if God
is for you, who can be against you?"
  "How do I do this faith thing? Do I have to jump
through some hoops or memorize a bunch of stuff?"
  "There's another verse in Romans you'll
appreciate." Mark called it up on the computer.
"Romans 10:13 says, "Anyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.""
  "Then I want to do some callin' right now,"
Clemson said.
  Mark knelt on the dusty floor with the man. The
others gathered around and put a hand on Clemson's
shoulder as he prayed along with Mark.
  "Dear Jesus--"
  "Jesus!" Ryan said.
  Everyone laughed, and Mark and Clemson
continued. "I come to you now and call on your name in
faith. I believe you died in my place on the
cross so I could be forgiven. I'm sorry for
rejecting you so long, and I ask you now to come into my
life and save me. Jesus, I'm sorry for the
bad things I've done, and I come to you like a little child,
believing that what you've said is true. Take
control of me and teach me your ways. You said
anybody who calls on your name would be saved, and
I believe it. I call on you now, in Jesus'
name. Amen."
  Clemson stood and gawked at the others.
"What's that funny-looking thing on your foreheads?"



  SEVEN
  Last Leg of the Trip
  Vicki was encouraged by the change in Cheryl.
Something had happened to the girl as she listened to Mark
talk with Clemson. But in a heated meeting with
Tom and Marshall, the group agreed Cheryl
shouldn't return with them.
  Clemson gathered a few of his things and followed
the others outside. As the sun rose higher, roofs
of buildings curled and fires broke out around them.
Vicki saw no animals, no living people, just the
rising heat vapor from the charred pavement.
  Miraculously, they found the van in perfect
condition and began loading Clemson's things inside.
Tom had held Ryan the entire time, not even
letting the boy get near Cheryl. When they were almost
finished loading, Cheryl approached Vicki and
asked what the group had decided.
"I don't think going back with us is a good
idea," Vicki said. "We'll head to Wanda's and
see if you can stay there."
  "What if I don't want to stay with her?"
  Vicki put an arm around Cheryl. "This isn't
easy for any of us. Make the most of this time away,
and down the road--"
  "What happens if I can't get back down the
road? Wanda could turn out to be--"
Tom passed, holding Ryan with one hand and
holding the phone to his ear with the other. Ryan smiled
and waved at Cheryl. She turned to Vicki.
"I'll do anything to see my little boy again."
  "Then use this time. Let God work on you."
  Cheryl nodded and everyone got in the van.
  The drive to Wanda's took thirty minutes.
Vicki thought their whole ordeal was worth the look
on Wanda's face when she saw Ryan. She
couldn't believe how big and healthy he looked.
  When Vicki had Wanda alone, she explained the
situation with Cheryl, and Wanda gave a worried
look. "There are people who depend on me. I'm always
happy to help, but if this girl keeps me from doing--"
  "I have a good feeling about her," Vicki
interrupted. "I think she's turned a corner, but
she needs help."
  "I can keep her busy, but it's going to be up
to her to want to change."
  They talked until the afternoon, and Vicki and the
others decided to return to the cabins the next
morning. As evening approached, the sun lowered, and
Vicki had never seen such a sunset. Smoke from
the rising fires mixed with the fading twilight and
created a blend of colors that took her breath
away. Fiery red clouds were tinged with purple and
orange. Vicki wished she had a camera.
  When they heard movement on the road,
everyone retreated into Wanda's hideout and watched the
coverage by the Global Community News Network.
Weather authorities tried to explain the killer
heat wave, but every theory given by experts made
Vicki laugh. Everyone in the world knew God had
caused the heat.
  Leon Fortunato spoke against Dr. Tsion
Ben-Judah's claims that the Bible predicted the
plague. "The enemies of world peace will twist these
ancient words to fit their own agenda," he said.
"His Excellency assures me that this change in
weather is only temporary. And we reject
reports that there is some
god punishing innocent people for simply living their
lives. That is not the kind of god I want
to serve. I wish to serve the loving, generous god we
have come to know, Nicolae Carpathia."
  "Interesting that Leon is speaking to us from some
underground cavern," Mark said, pointing out the
background of the room.
  Cameras picked up the effects of the devastation,
since no one could photograph the actual burning
during the middle of the day. Firefighters had to try
and contain the damage to major cities at night and
hope the next day things would get back
to normal.
^
  Judd was frustrated that he couldn't reach
Vicki. The group in Ohio gathered shortly after
Judd and Lionel returned from exploring and
tapped into a secret feed from the Tribulation Force
in San Diego.
  Rayford Steele appeared on-screen. "We
don't know how much time we're going to have, so we have
to work quickly to take advantage of this opportunity.
I've spoken personally with Dr. Ben-Judah, and
he's given his blessing on our decision to go ahead with
this operation.
  "We'll need volunteers throughout the country
to rearrange our storehouses of
goods and products we trade through the International
Commodity Co-op. We believe the Global
Community and their followers will focus on
survival, looking for relief from the sun. From what
we can tell, thousands or maybe hundreds of
thousands died today. In the coming days, we'd like to hear from
believers and find out what help you need. Our goal
is to move resources, but if we need to, we'll
move people out of harm's way.
  "This will not be easy, and it will be dangerous. We have
no idea how long the heat wave will last.
But we must take advantage of it as quickly as
possible."
  Judd wrote the Tribulation Force immediately and
volunteered. I'm hoping to be in Wisconsin by the
time you need me, but let me know how I can join the
effort.
  Judd and Lionel met with the leaders of the Ohio
group and talked about how to proceed. Later in the
evening Lionel handed Judd the phone and smiled.
"The bride-to-be is on the line."
  Judd grabbed the phone, and Vicki explained the
situation with Cheryl and where they were. "We're going
back to the campground in the morning, assuming the
plague continues. What about you?"
  "The leaders here have given the okay for
us to head your way. They're concerned that with all the
fires and debris on the roads, we might not
make it in a day, so we're stopping at a midway
point for the night.
  "I can't believe we're actually going to see
each other!"
  "I just hope the plague doesn't end in the
morning and we run into a bunch of GC officers."
  Judd found it difficult to sleep that night. The
group posted guards at the main entrance to the
hideout and kept a couple of members up all
night watching the property. Judd thought it was a
miracle that even with the extreme heat, the group's
outside cameras hadn't been affected.
  There were tearful good-byes the next morning as the
sun rose.
  "Red sky at morning, GC take warning,"
Lionel said.
  The doctor at the hideout who had helped with
Lionel's arm examined it one more time and pronounced
him healthy. Judd and Lionel thanked everyone for
their help, and two men loaded enough supplies in the
Humvee for a week. Another man made sure they
had enough fuel, and the two sped off.
  The fire's damage shocked Judd as he
crossed the old border of Ohio and drove
into Indiana. Trees and crops that had been
green the last time they were there lay black and
scorched, Judd had seen forest fire damage, but
this seemed even worse.
  Judd swerved to avoid several vehicles that had
burned the day before. Even worse than the dead
trees, grass, and plant life were the charred
bodies that littered the roadway, and Judd saw
Lionel cringe several times while they
drove.
  "What do you miss most about the way things used
to be?" Lionel said as they neared a city.
  "I miss my parents and my little brother and
sister," Judd said. "I think a lot about what
they'd be doing if they were here. Marc and Marci would be
in high school. But I also miss little things like going
to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game or grabbing
a burger at a local restaurant. I had
dreamed of owning my own car and being my own boss.
Going to movies--"
  "Yeah, movies," Lionel said as they passed
a destroyed theater complex. "The last time I went
to a theater was with my sister."
  "I know it sounds corny," Judd said, "but I
miss just going to a church service too. I didn't
like them when I was young, but now I'd give anything
to be able to sing together and listen to teaching without being
afraid."
"That's why I envy Sam for being in Petra. It
must be one big church service every day." Lionel
stretched his arm, put his seat back, and smiled.
"So, how are you going to court Vicki?"
  "Court?" Judd smirked.
  "Yeah, what are you two going to do, take
a walk in the fire?"
  "I'll admit I'm a little worried about it."
  "Why?"
  "We've been apart so long, and we've both
changed. Plus, the last time we were together, we fought
like cats and dogs."
  Lionel chuckled. "Vicki sure got ticked
at you a few times."
  "Right. And how do we know we won't keep
fighting?"
  "Because God's been working on you."
  "What do you mean?"
  "I've told you this before. I was around you when we
first started the Young Trib Force. You were ... how do
I say this . . . bossy. You knew you had the right
plan, and anybody who got in your way was wrong."
  Judd smiled. "Me?"
  "Over the last few months, years even, I've
seen God knock some rough edges off. He's
humbled you."
  "You talk like I was Frankenstein's monster."
"No, more like Frankenstein's selfish son."
Lionel laughed. "I'm not saying you're perfect,
and I expect you and Vicki are going to knock even
more rough edges off each other, but you've come a
long way. And I'm proud to be your friend."
  "Thanks."
^
  Vicki's heart nearly broke when she watched
Cheryl say good-bye to Ryan. Tom let her
hold the boy before they left, and Cheryl sang a
song she had made up for him. Through her tears she
choked out the words and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm
really sorry," she said as she handed Ryan to Tom.
"Will you tell Mrs. Fogarty that--"
  "You should tell her yourself," Tom said. "Write
her or call her."
  "I will. And I want you to know I'm going to get
better. I've never been through anything like this before."
Tom opened the door and carried Ryan outside.
Clemson put a hand on Cheryl's shoulder and
smiled, showing his yellow teeth. "I don't
excuse your behavior, but the truth is, I wouldn't
have found God's peace if you all hadn't driven
through our town. So I thank you for your part in that."
Cheryl nodded and hugged everyone. "I don't know
what I would have done without you," she whispered in
Vicki's ear.
  "I look forward to having you back, but don't
rush it. Talk this through with Wanda. Let God work."
  The drive back to the campground went
quickly in the daylight. Vicki wondered how many people
had died in the houses that smoldered on hillsides.
But she couldn't contain her excitement over Judd.
She looked out the window and smiled for no reason.
Marshall caught her and asked why she was so happy,
but she turned and tickled Ryan in his car seat without
answering.
  Along with the good feelings, Vicki couldn't help
being nervous. What if she and Judd didn't get
along? Their friendship had grown, but what if things
changed when they were face-to-face?
  Before the disappearances, the way a guy looked had
been so important to her. Whether a guy looked
"hot" was the only test Vicki had used to decide
whether to go out with him. Now she couldn't imagine being
interested in anyone who didn't share her faith in
God and want to reach out to others. She was sure there
was nothing that would keep her from liking Judd.
^
Judd and Lionel made it safely to the midway
point of their trip by early afternoon and thought about continuing
but decided to play it safe. They found the group they
had contacted packed into the basement of an old
library and running out of food. Judd and Lionel
took the food they needed from the Humvee for the rest of
their trip and gave the rest to the group.
  "We e-mailed the Trib Force about
supplies, but they don't know when they'll be able
to get here," the leader said.
  "I'm hoping to help move supplies around,"
Judd said. "I'll put in a word about your
situation."
  If Judd had trouble sleeping the night before, this
night was a disaster. One of the younger members argued with the
leader, and another coughed most of the night. Judd and
Lionel slept on the floor, which was a thin strip
of carpet over a slab of concrete. Judd walked
the floor above them through the early morning hours,
looking out at the charred remains of cars, trucks,
and trees.
  Before they left the next morning, Judd warned the
leader about GC movement in the area. "I didn't
see squad cars, but people
were definitely out last night. When they see this
library still standing, they may try to take possession
of it, so be careful."
  The leader thanked them for the food and wished them
well on the remainder of their trip. Lionel
pulled out the tattered map they had started with in South
Carolina so long ago and traced his finger along the
route they had carefully chosen for this final
leg of the trip. It ran a hundred miles south of
Chicago so they wouldn't have to deal with the new GC
buildup outside the nuked city.
  Judd had to keep from driving too fast on the
sweltering roadway. He set the cruise control
and let the Humvee keep speed until he came
to a burning wreck or a melted bridge. Twice
they were forced to drive through a small stream or find
another route.
  Finally, they reached the road to the campground
Vicki had described.
  Lionel folded the map and put it in his
pocket. "How do you feel?"
  Judd took a breath. "Remember when those
GC guys were looking for us in Israel? It's like
my heart's beating out of my chest."
  "Settle down, big boy. It's just another
stop on our way to the Glorious Appearing, right?"
  "Maybe it is for you," Judd said. He let
off on the gas pedal and slowed. "I want
to remember this last part of the drive."



  EIGHT
  Reunion
  Lionel felt a strange mix of emotions as
he got out of the Humvee and walked toward the
campground. A white van and another car were parked
nearby, and he spotted a child's toy in the grass and
picked it up.
  Lionel had dreamed of this moment from the first time he
suggested he and Judd return home. Through trips
to New Babylon, France, Petra, and their
ordeal in South Carolina, Lionel never let go
of the dream of being back with his friends.
  But how will they react to my missing arm'? The thought
sent a shiver through him and Lionel turned. Judd
was still in the car, his hands on the steering wheel, peering
into the afternoon sunlight. Lionel shook off the emotion
and walked toward the first cabin.
  The door opened and Conrad flew out,
racing to his friend and embracing him. Lionel hugged
him tightly and wept. Darrion followed, then
Shelly and Mark. The rest was a blur as familiar
faces and people he'd never seen surrounded him.
  "You wouldn't believe how we've prayed for you,"
an older woman said. "You look just like I thought you
would."
  Lionel smiled and tried to speak.
  "I'm Maggie," the woman said. "Vicki and the
others helped me get out of Des Plaines."
  A woman holding a child stepped forward, and
Lionel handed her the toy. "Where is Vicki?"
  Zeke stepped forward and grabbed Lionel's hand.
"Vicki and Janie have been down at Cheryl's
cabin fixing the place up. Down at the end."
  Lionel glanced back at the Humvee. Judd
was still inside.
  The emotion of seeing Lionel connect with his friends
was too wonderful for Judd. Years ago, when
Judd was a kid, he'd had relatives visit his
family. At the end of the visit there were hugs and
tears as Judd's parents said good-bye. At that
age, Judd couldn't understand why older people cried so
much.
Now, as he saw the friendships formed during the earth's
last days, he shook with emotion. These people had prayed
for him, had faced death together, and had lost many friends.
The gathering seemed like a breathtaking dream.
^
  Vicki and Janie had worked on Cheryl's old
cabin since Vicki had returned from her trip.
Food wrappers littered the floor. Clothes were
thrown about, and Cheryl's cot hadn't been made for
weeks. Though Marshall had assigned cabins and
put at least two people in each (he said the partner
system was best), Cheryl had stayed alone, which was
fine with everyone else. But Cheryl's
solitary life had come with a price. Vicki
wondered what might have happened if the girl had
roomed with someone who could have helped her think through the
situation with Ryan and the Fogartys.
  Janie had finished moving a bed into place when
Vicki heard a commotion outside. Janie went
to the window and noticed several people walking toward the
cabin.
  "Are they here?" Vicki said.
  "Only one way to find out," Janie said,
then rushed out, the screen door banging behind her.
  Vicki tried to move but couldn't. "God," she
prayed, "you know how long we've prayed for Judd
and Lionel to come back. You know all that's
happened, so before I even see them, I want
to thank you for loving us and sending them back. Whatever
happens between Judd and me, even if we just become
friends, I pray you'd get the glory for it. Amen."
  The screen door opened, and Lionel walked
inside. He looked older, his eyes somehow wiser.
Vicki had first met Lionel when he was only
thirteen. Now he was almost nineteen, and he had
grown taller than Vicki by a few inches. She
rushed to him and hugged him, forgetting about his arm
injury.
  "I'm not hurting you, am I?" Vicki said when
she could speak.
  Lionel smiled. "Nothing there to hurt."
  "Oh, Lionel, we've missed you so much. I
thought you'd be gone a couple of weeks, maybe a
month tops."
  "So did I. Guess things don't always turn
out the way you think they're going to."
  Vicki glanced at the door, and Lionel
stepped aside. "Were you looking for somebody
else?"
Vicki smiled. "He's with you, isn't he?"
Lionel took her hand and pulled her toward the
door. "Come on."
^
  The first one to reach Judd after he stepped out of the
car was Mark. There were no words, just hugs and slaps
on the back. Judd and Mark had disagreed about a
lot of things through the years, beginning with Mark's
involvement with the militia movement, but now all that
seemed forgotten. They had both seen enough death and had
been chased by the Global Community enough to know that any
squabbles in the past were easily put aside.
  "You don't know how good it is to be back,"
Judd said.
  Zeke gave Judd a hug that nearly
squeezed all the air from his lungs. "Looks like you
got a few scratches during your travels."
  "You haven't changed much, Zeke. Still have the
tattoos."
  "I'm thinkin' about gettin' a new one here,"
Zeke said, pointing to his right hand. "It'll be a
GC symbol with the words "Carpathia stinks."
  "Judd!" Shelly screamed. Zeke and Mark
made way for her as she embraced Judd.
"It's a big family reunion," Zeke said.
  Judd studied the faces outside the cabins
while he walked this gauntlet. He recognized
Tom and Josey Fogarty and hugged them tightly.
  "Vicki told me you'd finally believed,"
Judd said to Tom.
  "It took me a while to come around, but I finally
realized the truth."
  Darrion pecked Judd on the shoulder.
"Remember me?"
  Judd couldn't believe how much Darrion had
changed. When he had first met her, she was just a
kid. Now she was a young woman with long hair and a
beautiful smile.
  "Everybody's changed so much -- it's hard
to believe."
  "I think there's somebody down there who wants
to see you," Darrion whispered. "She's been really
nervous."
  Judd watched as Lionel came out of a cabin
pulling someone behind him.
  Vicki stepped outside the cabin and saw the glow
on the faces of those before her. Somehow Vicki felt
she had seen this moment before or had dreamed it. At the
top of the
hill, a few yards from the main cabin, a young man
moved slowly toward her.
  Judd had never felt so focused. He knew
everyone was watching, wondering what he would do, but he
concentrated on the girl at the end of the path.
  Vicki had changed since Judd had been gone,
like the others, like he had. Her red hair was shorter,
and Judd liked how it accented her face. She
looked older, more mature.
  On the drive to the airport, shortly after
Judd and Vicki had first met in that cataclysmic
moment after their families had disappeared, Judd
hadn't even considered Vicki as anything but a
fellow traveler, a lost and lonely survivor.
When everyone he loved was gone, his first instinct was
to shut down and keep people at a distance so he
wouldn't be hurt even more.
  The loss of Bruce Barnes had been another
huge blow to Judd. But over the past two years,
Judd had opened up to others in a way he had never
done before. As he walked past this band of brothers and
sisters, he wasn't just returning to his friends --
he was truly coming home.
The thought overwhelmed Judd the closer he got
to Vicki. Could God have loved him so much to take
him safely through the past years and bring him back to the
person he loved most? Had his adventures, his
fighting the Global Community all been part of a
plan to draw him closer to the God who loved him?
  Somewhere deep inside, the pride, selfreliance,
lack of trust in others, the guarding of his heart, and
even the focus on his own sins was breaking down. For
so long Judd had tried to figure things out. He
knew the Bible, how things would wind up when Christ
came back, and how everyone should act and fit in with his
views. But the more Judd had tried to control things and
people, the worse he felt.
  He was a few feet from Vicki when the emotion
he was trying to control crashed. He had stayed in the
car to compose himself, to keep himself guarded again, but the
sight of that old dog Ryan Daley had
brought home sent Judd over the edge. Phoenix
bounded past Vicki and ran toward Judd, his tail
wagging, barking with delight. Judd fell to his
knees and put his hands on the ground, tears streaming.
^
  At first Vicki thought Judd had fallen, then
realized he was overcome. When Phoenix
jumped up and licked his face, Vicki couldn't
tell if Judd was laughing or crying.
  She knelt and put an arm around Judd's
shoulder and the other around Phoenix. Everything else in
the world faded--the people around her, the hot sun, all the
death and destruction, the Global Community.
  Judd whispered something through his tears--she could
tell they were tears now. "What did you say?" she
said.
  "I'm so sorry, Vicki. I'm so sorry."
  "It's okay, Judd. You're back. What do
you have to be sorry about?"
  "For Phoenix. For Ryan. For the way I've
been."
  Vicki smiled and started to make Judd feel
better, but then she realized that God was doing something.
Here. Now. God was burrowing into Judd's soul,
working in a way she had seen only when a person
came to faith in God. To others it
probably seemed like Judd was happy to see
Vicki, but she sensed something more.
  Vicki placed both arms around Judd's neck
and whispered a prayer. "Oh, Father, you're so good
to us. You've brought my friend back. Thank you."
  Judd looked at Vicki, and she handed him a
tissue. His face was shadowed by a couple
days' growth of beard. He had aged beyond his
twenty-one years. Vicki looked at the others
gathered around. Josey Fogarty smiled and cradled
Ryan tightly in her arms. Zeke had his hand over
his mouth, studying the scene. Darrion and Janie and
Shelly hugged each other and cried. They had been
such good friends for Vicki.
  "I'm through with just surviving," Judd choked. "I
want to live. Do you think I can change?"
  "I think you already have."



  NINE
  First Steps
  Judd had never experienced a celebration like the
one that evening in Wisconsin. He had been
to birthday parties, anniversaries, and victory
celebrations, but they didn't compare with the joy in the
main cabin.
  Zeke pulled out a boxful of different
juices that no one knew he had. "I was waiting
for the right time and place, and this is it!"
  Josey Fogarty had baked several cakes, which
she said was therapy for her. "I hated waiting for word
about Ryan, so while I prayed I baked."
  "You could have saved the oven and just stuck the cake
outside," Zeke laughed.
  Ryan couldn't take his eyes off Lionel.
He was fascinated with Lionel's skin color and the
fact that one of his sleeves was empty. Lionel
seemed to take the attention in stride and let Ryan
see the way his arm had healed.
Vicki left Judd to talk with Josey. Judd
assumed it was to explain what had happened with Cheryl
the day before.
  After everyone had eaten, Judd asked Vicki
if she would like to take a walk before the sun went
down.
  Zeke stepped in front of Judd, blocking the
door. "As Vicki's substitute dad, I'm
going to have to ask your intentions."
  People snickered.
  Judd planted his feet and took a breath.
"Sir, I'm here to renew an old friendship, if
that's okay with you."
  Zeke looked at Vicki. "Are you open to this
young man renewing your acquaintance?"
  "I am."
  "Then go on, but have her back by dark." Zeke
leaned forward. "I'm serious about that last part.
We've been doing a lot of moving around. I
don't want any surprise visits from the GC
in the middle of the night."
  Vicki led the way, showing Judd each of the
cabins and telling him who lived where. She came
to Zeke's workshop, which no one visited anymore.
"Z's really excited about what he's been working
on for Lionel. After the people stopped coming for fake
ID'S and cosmetic work, he started developing
it."
  When they had seen all the cabins, Vicki led
Judd through the woods a short distance
to a knoll overlooking the camp and the surrounding
countryside. It seemed like years since Judd had
been outside in daylight and he loved it, even if
the devastating fires still raged. Smoke hovered
over the valley, and in the distance Judd saw houses
and farms ablaze.
  The fire hadn't touched the woods surrounding the
camp, and Judd was amazed. Like the other
plagues, this could only be explained by the awesome
power of God.
  Judd and Vicki sat on a tree stump,
side by side, and looked at the scene.
  "This world is on its last legs," Vicki said.
  "I can't wait to see what the new one's going
to look like." Judd shifted nervously. "That
wasn't the kind of entrance I'd hoped to make
earlier. I had planned a private kind of thing,
sneaking up on you and seeing if you'd recognize
me."
  "You had a lot of time to plan it out," Vicki
said.
  "I didn't think there would be so many people."
  "It was a wonderful way to return."
  "Zeke said I really lost it, and I guess I
did."
  "It's funny how people react to emotion."
"A lot of people are really uncomfortable, but I don't think you
should ever be sorry about
that. It was so genuine. I could tell God was doing
something special in your heart."
  "I used to sit in church and watch people go forward at
the end of the service and try to figure out how they got
the guts to do it. It seemed so humiliating
to get up there in front of all those people, sometimes
crying, other times just standing there. But when I saw you and
Phoenix, I finally realized what a jerk I've
been. I've seen it before, but it was like God showing me
wave after wave of truth. I don't feel like a very
worthy candidate to be your friend, let alone be ..."
  "What?" Vicki said.
  "You know... more than that."
  Vicki took Judd's hand and squeezed it.
"I know we only have a little more than a year left
before the Glorious Appearing, but I'd like to take this
slow. Get to know each other better. There are things
I need to tell you and things I need to hear from you."
  Judd nodded. "Where do we start?"
  "Tell me about Nada," Vicki said.
  Judd did. He spilled the whole story about
Nada, from their first meeting to Nada's eventual
death in an Israeli jail cell. Vicki
listened with interest, asking questions and falling silent when
Judd told her about the plague of horsemen and the
jailer who had killed Nada.
  "Did you love her?"
Judd hesitated. "I'm not sure. I'd be lying
to say I wasn't interested in her. She was an
incredible person." He pulled a tattered
piece of paper from his wallet and handed it to Vicki.
"She wrote this, and her mother gave it to me after she
died."
  Vicki opened the paper and spread it out on her
leg.
  Dear Judd,
  My mother suggested I write this down so I
won't forget. Maybe the GC is going
to execute us, and if that happens, you can take comfort
in the fact that I'm in a better place. Being with
Christ is what our lives are all about. If
they've killed me, I'm there, so don't be sad for
me. I love you very much. From the moment you came to our
family, I felt close to you. You were like a brother
to me. Then, as my feelings grew deeper, you were more
than that.
  But I have to tell you something. I feel it's only
fair that I express this. As close as we
became, in our talks and the time we spent together, I
always felt there was something missing. I couldn't put
my finger on it until we came back to Israel
and you backed away. I feel what I'm about to say
is something that God wants me to say.
  I have prayed many nights about this.
I've asked God to show me why I'm
feeling this way. Honestly, I think something is
holding you back. At first, I thought it was God.
You're so sold out on him, and you want to live for
him. But the more I thought and prayed, it became clear
that God wasn't coming between us. I really believe there
is someone else. You've never talked much about your
friends in the States, but I sense there is someone there
you care about deeply.
  Maybe I'm making this up. If so, I
apologize. But if I'm right and you find this letter, go
back to her. You're a wonderful person with so much
to offer. I have loved being your friend. I'm sorry for the
trouble I caused you in New Babylon. I'm
sorry for being difficult at times. (you had your
moments too.) I'll look forward to seeing you again,
whether it's in this life or the next. May God
bless you.
  Love,
  Nada
  Vicki's hands shook as she gingerly folded the
page. "I can't believe that. She knew you
well."
  They talked more about Nada and her sacrifice as
they returned to the main cabin. The sun had gone
down, and Judd wanted to
be sure to honor Zeke's request that they return
before dark.
  "Let me ask you something," Judd said.
"Remember when I called and you were out with that guy in
Iowa?"
  Vicki nodded. "His name was Chad Harris.
He actually showed up here a little while after you made
it to Ohio." Vicki told Judd what Chad had
done and how the GC had caught and executed him.
  Judd couldn't believe it. "You obviously
didn't want to hurt his feelings, but you didn't
feel the same way about him as he felt about you?"
  "Right. I felt really bad about it for weeks."
  When they reached the main cabin, everyone had gathered
around the computer for the latest from the Global Community
News Network. The reporters showed more death and
devastation throughout the world. Famous sites around the world
that had survived the wrath of the Lamb earthquake were
burning. The GC had tried to adapt, but it was
clear this plague had paralyzed the enemies of
God.
  "In the United North American States,
one man has risen to the challenge of the killer
fires," the reporter said.
A face flashed on the screen, and
Vicki groaned. "Fulcire," she said under her
breath.
  "Commander Kruno Fulcire says he won't
let this latest natural disaster keep him from his
duty," the reporter said.
  "I've pledged my life to the ideals of the
Global Community," Fulcire said from some darkened
GC bunker. "My main mission over these past
few months and years has been to ferret out rebels
and punish them. I'm sticking with that mission, and
we're offering even more money to any citizen brave
and resourceful enough to bring in rebels during this time."
  "How can people do that with all the fires?" the reporter
said.
  "Hunt them at night. We're watching radar and
surveillance cameras for any movement and tracking
down that movement when the heat allows. We may find
more rebels now than at any other time."
  "So there's truth to the rumors that the rebels, at
least some of them, are immune to this wave of heat?"
  Fulcire shifted in his chair. "I'm not saying
that we know exactly who or what is out there during the
day. I don't want to give the rebels any more
credit than they deserve, but if they're foolish enough
to go out in the fire and survive, we'll
find a way to catch them."
Marshall Jameson smiled. "Sounds like they're
trying to bluff us into staying put."
  "Which is another good reason to go on the
offensive," Judd said.
  They watched the coverage a few more minutes.
Then Colin Dial called for everyone's attention.
"Before we sample some of Josey's desserts,
I'd like to propose a toast." He held up a
glass of juice, and the others grabbed full
glasses from the table. "To Judd and Lionel, for
surviving the long journey home."
  Lionel held up his glass. "If I could
add to that?"
  Colin nodded.
  "For the prayers of our friends. God answered in
ways we couldn't have imagined, and we thank you."
  "I might as well give mine and not let you two
hog the spotlight," Zeke said. The others
laughed. "To all the people we've known who believed and
are no longer with us. And to my dad." He looked
at the ceiling and gave a short salute. "I
hope I can live long enough to make you proud."
  Judd looked around to see if anyone else would
add a toast. Charlie stepped forward.
"I have one. To Judd and Vicki."
  "To Judd and Vicki," everyone said.
Judd couldn't remember the last time he had eaten
homemade cake. He devoured his first piece and
went for seconds. The warmth of the group, the laughter
and happy faces, were the perfect end to the evening.
Though they had all experienced loss and the world was
winding down like a huge clock, it felt good to have
fun again.
  Before the group went to their cabins, Marshall gave
final instructions. "We're awaiting word from the
Tribulation Force about the movement of supplies and
people. Everybody be ready to help or welcome
additions if we need to."
  After an emotional time in prayer, everyone moved
to their cabins. Judd lingered, talking to Conrad and
Mark about the possibility of joining the Tribulation
Force to move supplies.
  Vicki talked with Becky Dial and others about
Judd's return. As everyone filed out, Vicki
touched Judd on the shoulder to say good night, but he
excused himself and walked her to her cabin. The air was
cool compared to the daytime temperature, and Vicki
rubbed her arms.
  "Great night, wasn't it?" Judd
said.
"The best I can remember."
  "I have something to apologize for."
  "What?"
  "Your birthday."
  Vicki chuckled. "The whole world is burning, and
you're worried about my birthday?"
  "I had it written down to send you a message
on your birthday, but we switched computers and it
slipped my mind. When I finally remembered, it
seemed kind of lame to just apologize, and I
couldn't send this."
  Judd pulled out a small package and Vicki
gasped.
  "I ran short on wrapping paper," Judd
said.
  Vicki unwrapped the newspaper and opened the
box slowly. Shelly peeked out the cabin door,
then closed it. Vicki heard snickers from inside,
and Judd blushed.
  "When we moved from Indiana to Ohio, we met
a doctor who treated Lionel's arm. His wife
had disappeared in the Rapture, and he'd kept this
ever since he found it on her pillow."
  Inside the box was a beautiful gold
chain with a heart-shaped pendant. A diamond
sparkled in the middle. Judd turned the heart around
and pointed at elegant writing on the back that said
Ich Liebe Dich.
  "What's that mean?"
"The doctor said it's German for "I love you."
He had studied in Germany and brought that back as an
engagement gift for his wife. When I told him our
story, he wanted me to give it to you." Judd
took the necklace from the box and fastened it around
Vicki's neck.
  "I love it. And I'm glad you waited to give
it to me." She gave Judd a hug.
  He smiled and squeezed her hand. "See you at
breakfast?"
  "Wouldn't miss it."



  TEN
  Working for the Co-op
  THE FIRST night was the hardest for Lionel. He
told Marshall he would take the first watch for any
GC activity, and when Marshall protested,
Lionel put his hand on the man's arm. "It would do
me good to stay up. I'm not doing too well with all
the changes."
  Zeke volunteered to stay at the computer
with Lionel, and they had a good talk. "Must be kind
of hard for you with all the excitement over Judd and
Vicki."
  "I expected it," Lionel said. "I don't
know which was harder, running from the GC these last few
years or keeping up with Judd's love life."
  Zeke smiled. "You've seen a lot more of the inner
workings of the GC than any of us here."
  "And I've seen a lot of death." Lionel
told
Zeke about Conrad's brother, Taylor Graham,
and how he had died. Zeke asked about Pavel, their
young friend who had invited them to New Babylon, who
had also died. When Lionel got to the stories of
Nada and her brother, Kasim, he shook his head.
"I think we need to change the subject."
  "Good idea. Tell me what God's done with you
since you left."
  Lionel held up the stump of his left arm.
"He did this."
  "Are you upset about it?"
  "No. I just don't understand why it had to happen."
  "Accidents happen."
  Lionel nodded. "I guess that's one thing that
changed while I was away. Before the
Rapture, I thought about God in terms of him being
way out there and us down here trying to do stuff for him.
When I became a true believer, I realized he
wanted to be with us, helping us. But I still thought living
for God meant doing stuff for him, trying to convince people
he's there and he loves them. All the pressure was
on me to perform, you know? If somebody didn't
become a believer, I felt responsible, like it was
my fault."
  "And that's changed?"
  "Big time. I know I need to reach out as much as
I can, but the past few years have
taught me this is God's battle. He's the one
drawing people to himself and fighting the enemy. If I talk
with someone and they don't become a believer, I
feel sad, but I don't feel guilty. God
really is in control."
  Zeke nodded. "That's a hard lesson to learn.
We want to keep control of things and make it all
about us when this is all about God." He paused.
"But how does that affect your arm? If God's in
control, he let it happen."
  Lionel stared at the computer screen. "Sometimes
at night I'll reach out for a drink of water or
rub my eyes, and I'll realize I'm
still reaching with my left hand. And then I'll have
nightmares about the rest of my arm under that rock."
  "Ever have any pain in the arm that's gone?"
  "You bet. It shoots up and down the tendons and
into my fingers . . . fingers that aren't even there."
  "They call that phantom pain, but it's supposed
to be just as real as if your arm were still there."
  "I thought it would go away, but it hasn't."
  "Give it time," Zeke said. "I watched you tonight
during the celebration. You've adjusted well to the
physical part, eating with one hand and everything else.
But there's a mental side to this, an emotional thing you
have to adjust to. I can't say I can help much, but
if you need somebody to talk to ..."
  "Thanks," Lionel said.
  "And there's something I've been workin" on since
I heard about the accident." Zeke walked to a
storage closet and pulled out a box. He laid
it at Lionel's feet.
  Lionel gasped when he opened the lid. Inside
was a plastic replica of the lower portion of his arm.
"How did you--"
  "As soon as I heard what happened, I went
looking on the Internet and through our sources at the
Co-op for what they call prosthetic
devices. Then I realized I had most of the
materials right here, so I went to work. The hard part
was making a mold for the plastic. I must have tried a
dozen times before it came out right. Go ahead--try it
out."
  Lionel lifted the gadget into place. It fit
perfectly against the end of his arm.
  Zeke helped him fasten it. "You ain't gonna
be lifting with it or using two pistols to fight the
GC, but it does move with pressure." He showed
Lionel how to turn his hand and move the lower arm
by shifting his weight.
  "It's perfect," Lionel said, holding out his
new left hand. "Put her there."
  Zeke shook Lionel's left hand and smiled.
"I don't know why God allowed that to
happen either, but I wouldn't doubt it if he was
preparing you for something."
  "He's going to have to hurry if he wants to use
me," Lionel said. "There's only a year left
before Jesus comes back."
^
  Vicki liked the fact that Judd hadn't kissed
her good night. The slower they took this, the better,
as far as she was concerned. As she lay in bed, she
held the golden heart up to the moonlight
streaming in the window and watched the reflection dance
against the ceiling. Shelly and Janie had moved into the
room with her and had gushed over the present.
  "It's so romantic!" Janie had said.
  "Is that an engagement necklace?" Shelly
said.
  Vicki grinned. "The reports of our wedding have
been greatly exaggerated."
  Now, as the others slept, Vicki wondered what
would happen. She had been waiting for so long she
didn't know how to act now that Judd was actually
here. She closed her eyes and thought of a scene from a
movie where two people had been married in a secret
ceremony. She drifted off to sleep clutching the
golden heart.
^
Over the next few days, Judd tried to help out
with whatever jobs needed to be done at the campground.
The latest news from the Co-op suggested they would
need to make room for a group that had been hiding south
of Chicago, where the GC were more active.
  "It's easier to move people than supplies,"
Rayford Steele had said, "and this will get our people out of
harm's way."
  Judd kept in contact with Sam Goldberg for the
latest in Petra. The boy continued his
Petra Diaries, and each new writing was filled
with facts and observations about Tsion's and Chaim's
messages.
  Judd also spoke with Chang Wong in New
Babylon and encouraged him to use the heat wave
to escape Nicolae Carpathia and the palace.
Chang resisted, saying the Tribulation Force needed
him there now more than ever.
  "There's so much to move -- equipment,
aircraft, food, and other supplies," Chang
said. "If I can hang on long enough, we'll all
be in a lot better shape for the final year."
  "What's it like there?" Judd said.
  "Everyone is obsessed with finding shelter from the
sun. The first couple of days were the worst. People went
underground and set up their offices and living quarters.
They
work at night and try to sleep during the day, but some
don't even want to go out at night because of all the
bodies and burned-out vehicles."
  "What about Carpathia? I hope he's mad about
all this."
  "He says the heat's not bothering him at all."
  "You're kidding."
  "No, the sun comes through the glass
ceiling and roasts the whole floor. His secretary
is underground, but Nicolae orders people around all day
from his office."
  "Can anyone work in the palace?"
  "On the lower floors, they've painted the windows
black to keep out the sun, and some can work there. The
weirdest thing happened the other day after Nicolae
told his secretary he was going into the courtyard
to sunbathe."
  Judd shook his head. "And I suppose he
did it."
  "I snuck to a corner window and scraped a
hole in the black coating. Carpathia took off his
shirt and lay on a concrete bench and soaked in the
rays."
  "How long did he stay there?"
  "He was out there at least an hour. Flames were
licking at the concrete and all around
him. I listened to a recording of Leon Fortunato
with their head security guy, Akbar. Leon said he
couldn't stand within twenty feet of Nicolae after the
sunbathing incident because it was too hot."
  "We should start calling him Nicolae the
blowtorch."
  Chang laughed. "Leon said
Nicolae's shoes smoked. There were sparks in his
hair. Even the buttons of his suit had melted."
"It just shows he's not really human." "You won't
believe what happened after that," Chang continued.
"I listened in to a conversation between Smoky Shoes and
Technical Services. He wanted a
telescope set up so he could look directly
at the sun at noon." "What could he possibly
want that for?" "He said he wanted to record whether
the sun has grown and if bursts of flame from its
surface would be visible."
  "Don't tell me he actually did it." "I
watched him. He looked at the sun for several
minutes. He left, and when he came back the
telescope had melted. That night he told the
technician he had seen the flares dancing on the
sun's surface. The techie laughed, thinking it was
a joke, and Carpathia turned mean." "What did
he say?"
"He said, "The sun, moon, and stars bow to me.""
  Judd felt a chill. He knew Carpathia was
the Antichrist, but he was more than that now. Since
Nicolae had risen from the dead, Dr.
Ben-Judah and others believed that the man
was literally indwelt by Satan. God's enemy would
be defeated, but not before he did everything he could
to hurt God's people. Satan, as Jesus had said,
was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. He would use
all his weapons to try to block God's plan.
  "Carpathia has to know his time is running out,"
Judd said.
  "Don't think the guy will ever think logically.
He's trying to convince everyone around him that he's still
king of the world."
  "Even though everybody's burning up? Chang, this
is the perfect time for you to get away. Think of what
they'll do to you if they find out who you really serve."
  "There's still too much to do with the Tribulation Force.
Besides, nobody suspects me."
  "Just don't make any mistakes. The first could
be your last."
^
  Vicki was pleased with the progress they were making
with the cabins. Clemson Stoddard
turned out to be a great carpenter. When he wasn't
helping repair old cabins or construct new
ones, he was reading Tsion Ben-Judah's Web
site or sitting in on classes Vicki and the
others offered newer believers.
  Clemson had gone from looking like a
hermit to being neatly dressed. He was always
polite, and he had as many questions as anyone about the end
of the world and what was going to happen next.
  Vicki was answering one of his questions by drawing a time
line of the Tribulation when she turned and noticed
Judd had slipped into the back. She continued,
trying to keep her focus on the class.
  Marshall called everyone to dinner, and Judd
walked with her to the main cabin.
  "Don't do that again," Vicki said.
  "Do what?"
  "It makes me nervous when you're back there."
  Judd stopped her and turned to face her. "You
are one of the best teachers I've ever seen. I was
only in there a few minutes, but the way you
explained the time line was incredible."
  Vicki blushed and rolled her eyes.
  "I mean it. You don't know how proud I was when
we were in Israel and you showed up on the video
screen above the stadium."
"Bet you were surprised too."
  "You bet and a little bit scared for you. But when
Vicki B." started talking about God and telling
people how to become a believer, I was in awe."
  "So you didn't think I could do that kind
of thing?"
  "I didn't take the time to think about anybody
else back then. But it's clear now that God had
something more planned for you, and if I hadn't gotten out
of the way, it might never have happened."
  Vicki smiled. "Care to escort the teacher
to dinner?"
  "I'd be honored."
  As the sun went down, Judd and Vicki met with
Marshall and Zeke. Judd was excited because he
knew Marshall had had a phone meeting scheduled with
Rayford Steele earlier in the day.
  "The Trib Force heard from the group you stayed with
in the library, but they haven't been able to get back
in touch with them," Marshall said. "They're wondering
if you could meet them and help lead them to those people."
  "I'm there, "Judd said.
"Before you agree, you have to understand that we don't have any
idea when this plague will lift. You could be in the air
when it gets cool, and the GC could converge on you."
  Judd bit his lip. "In that case, I have one
request."
  "What's that?" Marshall said.
  "That Vicki goes with me."



  ELEVEN
  Library Mission
  As SOON as the sun came up two days
later, Judd drove Vicki south in the Humvee
to meet a Tribulation Force plane. The small
airport lay in ruins, skeletons of planes
smoldering under the wrecked hangar. The runway was still
in good shape though, and it wasn't long after they
arrived that the plane touched down.
  Judd had hoped Rayford Steele would be aboard
or perhaps another of the higher ranking Trib Force
members. Instead, the door opened and Westin
Jakes appeared. Judd introduced Vicki, and
Westin shook hands with her. "So you're the reason
Judd was so eager to get back to the States."
  Vicki smiled. "And you're one of the reasons he
made it back in one piece."
  "Have a seat. We'll get in the air, and I'll
explain our mission."
"This is an awfully big plane for the three of us,"
Judd said.
  "Hopefully on the way back we'll have the thing
full of your friends from that library," Westin said. He
asked Judd the specific location of the library, and
Judd told him.
  Westin went to the back of the plane as
Judd buckled in behind the pilot's seat. He
told Vicki more about what Westin had been through and the
episode in Paris.
  "If Judd and Lionel hadn't been there
to help, my head would be in some bread basket in
France right now," Westin said when he returned to the
cockpit. "I heard about Lionel's arm. Tell
him I've been praying for him."
  "He'll appreciate that," Judd said. "Have you
heard anything about Z-Van lately?"
  Westin smiled. "You didn't hear about the concert
a few days ago?" He held up a hand, taxied
the runway, and got them airborne.
  When it was safe, he put the plane on
autopilot and turned. "Z-Van was doing his
proCarpathia show, I guess trying to make people
think there's really nothing wrong with the world, when it starts
getting hot onstage."
  "This was the day the heat wave started?" Vicki
said.
  Westin nodded.
  "And you were there?" Judd said.
"I was delivering supplies to a group of believers
near the event. It was a night job, real secret
kind of stuff. I had dropped the
supplies off and was heading back to the plane when I
found out about Z-Van's appearance. I couldn't
help myself."
  "Don't tell me you showed up at the concert!"
Judd said.
  "I kept a good distance. I was wearing my fake
GC outfit, so nobody paid much attention.
Normally Z-Van doesn't perform in the daytime,
at least he didn't while I was with him. But the
GC must have convinced him to do this late-morning gig."
  "I don't guess they needed a warm-up band."
Judd laughed.
  "Good one," Westin said. "I noticed people in the
crowd were getting restless way before show time. They were
wiping their faces and shielding their eyes from the sun.
Some held blankets or umbrellas over them.
Well, the music started and Z-Van came out, but
people were getting so hot that they couldn't pay attention."
  "And you probably had no idea what was going
on," Judd said.
  "Right. I was a little warm, but these people were going
crazy. Z-Van runs out expecting some kind of
ovation, and there are nothing
but screams. He reaches for the microphone and then
drops it on the ground like he's picked up
a poisonous snake. That's when I noticed something
funny about the video screen onstage. Images of
Nicolae and Leon Fortunato were flashing when all
of a sudden the screen started rippling. Then a big
brown spot appeared in the middle, and it burst
into flames."
  "I'll bet that got Z-Van's attention,"
Judd said.
  "He was still trying to pick up the microphone, but
the thing had melted. He pried it up with a
drumstick, but it was fried."
  "What did the crowd do?" Vicki said.
  "Everybody panicked. It was as if the heat just
descended like a swarm of bees, and they ran for
cover. Problem was, they ran over each other.
Hundreds were killed from being trampled before the first
person ever caught fire."
  "How awful! "Vicki said.
  "One of those miracle workers came onstage and
tried to calm the crowd. He was wearing a long,
black robe and had a lapel microphone on. The
speakers started crackling and popping like something was
wrong with the lines, but when I looked closer, it was the
miracle guy with flames licking at his outfit.
He ran screaming to the back with the rest of the
band members."
"You think Z-Van survived?" Judd said.
  "The GC hasn't said he's dead, but they also
didn't report anything about the concert. There must have
been thousands on the ground, their bodies just piles of
ashes. The stage, lights, all their instruments--
everything went up in smoke."
  As they flew, Westin told them the other things he
had experienced while flying for the Co-op. Judd was
amazed at all God had accomplished through this man
he and Lionel had reached out to.
  When they neared their destination, Westin outlined the
plan for the group at the library. He handed Judd
a printout of a message the Tribulation Force had
received two days earlier.
  Dear Captain Steele or anyone else in the
Tribulation Force,
  A young man named Judd Thompson gave us this
address and told us if we felt in danger in any
way we should contact you. The power has been spotty
in our area, but there have been sightings of GC near us
at night. If you could please get back to us with an
escape plan, we would be grateful. I don't
feel I should give you our location in case this gets
intercepted by the GC. Below
you'll see Judd's e-mail, and he can tell you
where to find us.
  The group signed the note, "Waiting in the
stacks." Judd thought of the people he had met at the
library. "How are we going to get from wherever you'll
land to the library?"
  "Good question. You'll have to ask God that one. We have
people praying about the transportation question right now."
  Westin used his phone to call San Diego and
confirm the nearest landing strip that could handle their large
airplane. "I was right. The nearest strip is about
twenty miles from your friends." He glanced at his
watch. "If everything goes as planned, we can get
back to Wisconsin with a couple hours to spare and have
your friends at the camp meet you with another
vehicle."
  "What if we don't get back before sundown?"
Vicki said.
  "That's why we have people praying," Westin said.
  As they flew close to the ground, Vicki looked
out the window at plumes of smoke rising from
buildings. There were no other planes in sight, which was
an eerie feeling.
The earth looked like a shell that had been used and
thrown away. The most drastic change had
come with the wrath of the Lamb earthquake, but even with that,
the GC leaders had found a way to bounce back and
restore services. With this plague of heat, the earth
had come to a standstill during daylight hours. It was
an advantage Vicki had never dreamed offer
believers, but she couldn't help feeling sad for the
poor people who had chosen Carpathia.
  Westin told her and Judd that the Tribulation
Force members were free to come and go as long as they were
careful to plan their travel into time zones that kept
them in daylight as long as possible. There was news that
the polar ice caps were melting faster than at any
time in history, and huge weather systems threatened the
coasts on every continent. Many coastlines were already
buried under massive floods.
  "What are you doing after this assignment?" Vicki
said.
  "We're trying to coordinate our planes and
storehouses. Chang Wong in New Babylon
has it all graphed out. If this heat wave
continues, we'll have enough food and supplies for
believers for at least a year. That's what we
hope."
The plane touched down on a runway so short
Vicki thought they were going to run off the end.
Westin led them off the plane and secured the door,
though there was no reason to think anyone would get to it
before they returned.
  When they were on the ground, Vicki saw the
devastation of a more populated city for the first time. What
appeared to be million-dollar homes looked like the
remains of old campfires. Fencing around the
airport had melted from the intense heat.
  Vicki noticed a creepy silence. In the
woods she had sensed the lack of animals during the
day, but here, where there should have been traffic and honking
and buses, the only sound was the occasional collapse
of a building or the crackling of fires.
  "Follow me," Westin said. He led them to a
concrete parking garage. "We haven't used this
airfield as a base of operations, but I'm willing
to bet there's a vehicle--" He paused, staring
into the distance. "Would you look at that?"
  Vicki glanced to her right at a small bus
sitting in front of what was left of the main terminal
building. It looked like the kind of bus used
to transport disabled children. She was shocked that in the
midst of the heat, the vehicle hadn't caught fire.
"Is this your answer to prayer?" Judd said as they
ran to the bus.
  "Works for me," Westin said.
  They climbed in and Westin chuckled. "Even has
a full tank of gas."
  Though they had found transportation quickly, finding
the library proved to be more difficult. It was
nearly 3:30 local time when they finally pulled
close to the structure. Judd said he had worried
that the building wouldn't be there, but it still stood.
  Vicki was glad to retrace some of Judd's
steps. She had heard about the library and pictured
it in her mind, but seeing it in person made her
feel more a part of his story.
  Judd opened the front door and called for his
friends. There was no answer. "They're probably
downstairs. Come on."
  Judd took the stairs two at a time and bounded
through the lower floor of the darkened library. He
flipped on the light switch, but nothing happened.
  "They said they were having power problems," Westin
said.
  Vicki was immediately hit by the smell of old
books. She hadn't spent that much time in the library
as a kid, but the times when she had to do a research
project or look up something on the Internet had
been fun.
Each time she walked through her library in Mount
Prospect, she wondered why she didn't read more.
  Westin snagged Judd's shirt and pulled him
back toward the stairwell. "Something's not right."
  "There can't be GC here," Judd said. "The
building would have -- his
  Someone moaned from behind the stacks of books.
Vicki was startled when she heard pounding on the window
upstairs. The three moved back up the steps
cautiously, and Vicki gasped when she saw a
face at the window.
  Judd hit the front door and rushed outside.
  Judd grabbed the leader of the group's hands and
shook furiously. He introduced Vicki and
Westin while the man caught his breath.
  "Two nights ago . . . the GC came ...
we only had a few seconds to get out the back,"
the man gasped.
  "Where is everyone?" Judd said.
  "Scattered. Some of us have hidden in a burned-out
building a few blocks away. We prayed you'd
come."
  "And there are Peacekeepers hiding downstairs in
the library?"
"Some are just citizens, but others are
officers. I think they have guns."
  "I don't get it," Vicki said. "If
everybody in there is loyal to Carpathia, why
hasn't the building burned?"
  Westin pursed his lips. "Let's get the rest
of your group and get out of here."
  The man led them to three separate sites and
gathered more than twenty people into the bus. All were
overjoyed to see Judd, glad they wouldn't have
to spend another night hiding. One of the last to be
picked up was a woman in her forties who scanned
the bus and turned to Westin. "We can't leave yet.
Howard's not here."
  "Who's Howard?" Judd said.
  "My son. You probably met him when you were
here."
  "I remember a young guy who argued--"
  The woman nodded. "That's him. I don't know
if he made it out of the library. I haven't seen
him since that night."
  "Where else could he be?" Judd said.
  "Wait a minute," Vicki said. "If the
library is still standing, maybe Howard's hiding there."
  Westin looked at his watch. "Listen, people,
we're running out of time. If we don't
get in the air soon--"
"We have to try," Vicki said, glancing at
Judd. "If the GC find him tonight--"
  "Who's to say they haven't already found him and
chopped off his head?" a man behind them said.
  Howard's mother put a hand to her mouth and started
crying.
  "Don't worry," Vicki said. She looked
at Judd. "We are going to try, right?"
  Judd motioned for Westin to move outside, and the
man followed. "I can't pull rank on you because I
don't have any, but I'd like to go back and see if this
kid is inside the library. Vicki's got a
hunch, and usually she's right."
  "Don't let your judgment get clouded,"
Westin said. "If we get caught out after dark, we
could jeopardize the whole Tribulation Force. If
we're in the air, the GC could launch a missile
or track us with radar."
  Judd looked at his watch. "Let us go to the
library, and you head to the plane. If we're not there
in an hour, leave."
  "I can't do that. And you know if Captain Steel
or anybody else hears about this, you won't go on
another mission."
  Judd looked at Vicki, who had her arm
draped around Howard's mother. He jumped back
inside the bus and called for quiet. "Does
anyone know of a vehicle near here?"
An older man raised a hand. "I have an old
Beetle in a garage a couple of blocks that
way. It was still there yesterday when I checked."
  "Where are the keys?" Judd said.
  The man fished in his pocket and threw them at
Judd. "Go left at that stop sign, and then two
blocks. It's the only garage still standing."
  "You can't do this," Westin said as Judd raced
down the stairs.
  Judd turned. "One hour. We'll meet you
at the airstrip." He looked at the distraught
woman. "And don't worry, ma'am. If your
son's there, we'll find him."
  "Bless you," she said.
  The air brakes sounded behind them while Judd and
Vicki hurried toward the garage.
  "You think we can make it in an hour?" Vicki
said.
  "If we don't, it's going to be a long
night."



  TWELVE
  Rescue
  THE CAR sputtered and coughed when Judd turned
the key. The Volkswagen wasn't just old--it was
ancient, with rust spots on the body, balding
tires, and an inch of dust. Vicki coughed as she
jumped in the passenger seat. Judd tried to start the
engine again, but it wheezed and shook.
  "Maybe we should walk to the library," Vicki
said.
  "We'll never make it back to the airport in
time," Judd said, pumping the gas pedal. He
turned the ignition again, and blue smoke poured from the
exhaust pipe. He revved the engine, put the car
in reverse, and backed out.
  The car chugged and clunked its way through the smoky
streets, leaving a trail of smoke of its own.
Judd glanced at Vicki and
smiled. "You think the GC will stop us for polluting
the air?"
  Vicki gritted her teeth. "You're doing this for
me, aren't you?"
  "In a way, but I'm doing it for Howard and his
mother too."
  "I saw Westin's face. If we don't get
back to that plane in time we're in big
trouble, right?"
  Judd made a sharp turn, and the tires
squealed. "This is the right thing to do, and not just because it was
your idea. We're going to find Howard and get to the
plane. Besides, Westin owes me."
  Judd parked on what had been the lawn of the
library. All the grass had burned, along with the
flowers and shrubbery that surrounded the building.
  "How do you want to do this?" Vicki said.
  "We don't have time for strategy," Judd said.
  "If there are GC here and they have guns, they'll
use them."
  Judd scratched his chin. "Maybe we can make
them think there are more than two of us."
  "It doesn't matter how many they think we are--
if they start shooting, we're in trouble."
Vicki already noticed a change in the way Judd
handled things. In the old days, he would have simply
rushed inside without talking with anyone. He might have
dismissed the idea of coming back altogether. But something had
changed, and it made Vicki want to follow him
inside.
  Judd stopped, picked up a huge rock, and
pointed to the tinted glass below them. "That's the
stairwell. Grab a rock and see if you
can break that glass."
  Judd's first throw glanced off and landed below.
Vicki moved for a better angle and heaved a chunk
of concrete. The glass crashed and fell inside the
stairwell.
  "Good job," Judd said, picking up another
stone. A minute later the stairwell was filled with
glass, and the sun reached the fire doors below.
  Judd climbed down the small hill and
carefully crawled through one of the broken windows. He
reached back to help Vicki through, then propped open
the fire doors with two rocks. Immediately Vicki
heard voices whispering inside. A woman was
crying, and someone tried to shush her.
  Vicki moved into the basement and
thought about the GC'S perspective. They were trying
to stay out of the fire, and here were people walking through it as
though it was nothing. "They must be terrified," she
whispered.
  Judd pointed to the opposite end of the building.
"I saw two windows down on that end. There must be
an office or something. The more light we can get in
here, the better."
  Vicki nodded, grabbed two rocks, and hurried
in the shadows to the other end of the room.
Judd was right. A sign on a door at the end said
Library Director. Vicki tried the
doorknob, and to her surprise the door opened.
She hurled stones at the window behind the desk, and the
glass shattered, letting in some of the deadly heat.
  Another crash on the other side of the library and a
shaft of light lit the room. Judd walked into the
light.
  "What do you want with us?" a man yelled, his
voice full of fear.
  "Why are you trying to kill us?" a woman sobbed.
  Vicki froze and strained to see the people. "It's
getting really hot," someone said.
  "We don't want to hurt you," Judd said.
Vicki had never heard this voice of Judd's. It
was full of authority, though he wasn't yelling.
"Throw out your weapons, and we'll get what we
need and leave."
  "Don't do it," someone whispered. "It's a
trick."
  "That blacked-out window behind you will come down if you
don't slide your weapons out now."
  Vicki held her breath.
  Several guns clattered on the floor. Judd
gathered them up cautiously and returned
to the shadows. "All right, step forward and come to the
front of the stacks."
  "He's going to shoot us!" a woman said.
  "You won't be harmed. Step forward."
  "The sun's too hot," a man said.
  Judd kicked the rocks from the stair doors and
let them close. The room darkened, and several people
stepped forward. "Sit," Judd said.
  Vicki counted twelve people, four of them wearing
Global Community uniforms. They sat in front
of the bookshelves, sweating and breathing heavily,
eyes darting from Judd to Vicki.
  "Is this all of you?" Judd said.
  "It's everybody," an officer said.
  Judd placed the guns on the floor and
squatted. "How did you find this place?"
  The officer laughed. "What do you mean?
It's the only building standing for blocks. We ran
in here to escape the heat. More come every night."
  "Did you see anyone in here when you came?"
  "Nobody," the officer said.
  "I thought I saw some Judah-ites run out,"
a younger woman said. "They ran into the sunlight just
like..."
  "Just like what?"
  She hesitated. "Just like you."
  As Judd spoke with the group, Vicki wandered
down the corridor, looking for a hiding place. She
noticed movement in one of the locked study rooms
along the north wall. A series of doors opened
on small, five-by-five-foot rooms.
Vicki got on all fours and crept toward the
door at the end. She stood and looked through the
window. A young man with the mark of the believer on his
forehead moved behind a desk. He was startled when
Vicki knocked on the door.
  "Howard?" Vicki said.
  The young man's mouth opened in shock. "How did
you know my name?"
  "Get out of there. We don't have much time."
  Howard was thin and no taller than Vicki, with a
slight beard. His clothes were tight, and his hair
stuck up in the back.
"I've been waiting two days for someone to come get
me," Howard said as he snatched his backpack and
followed Vicki. "Do you know where my mom and--"
  Vicki put a finger to her lips. "Keep
quiet until we get out of here." She led Howard
to the stairwell door and cleared her throat. "I have
him."
  Judd grabbed the guns from the floor and stood.
  "I thought you said we could have our guns back," the
officer said.
  "You don't need guns to survive this plague
by God."
  "You are Judah-ites," a woman said.
  A gun clicked from the back of the library, and
Vicki ducked as the wood above her head
splintered. Automatic weapon fire filled the
room, and Judd hit the stairwell doors hard,
spreading light onto the people sitting in front of the
stacks. All of them screamed and ran for the darkness as
Judd, Vicki, and Howard bolted upstairs.
  "Get in the car!" Judd yelled as they jumped
over the broken glass on the stairway. More
gunfire erupted, but the shooter quickly ran out of
ammunition.
  While Judd plopped the weapons in the
backseat, Howard jumped inside. "Where are you
taking me?"
  "Hang on," Judd said, firing up the
Beetle. "We're headed for the airport."
  The car's tires spun on the lawn when Judd
pulled away. Vicki looked back to make sure
no one was following them and noticed more
smoke. Judd slowed long enough to see the roof of the
library begin to curl. Windows on the upper floor
of the building shattered, and smoke billowed. Vicki
put her window down a little, then rolled it up when
she heard people inside screaming.
  Judd had clicked his stopwatch as soon as
Westin and the others in the bus pulled away. He
looked at it now and shook his head. They had less
than twenty minutes to make it to the airport before the
hour was up.
  He flew through the streets, made a wrong
turn, backtracked, then headed in the right
direction.
  "How'd you guys know I was there?" Howard said.
  "Your mom noticed you were missing," Vicki said.
"What happened?"
  "Our leader told us to stay together, but I
got fed up with all the rules. I went into one of
those study rooms, and when I woke up the GC had
moved in. I tried to slip out last night, but I
got scared."
  "You should have listened to your leader," Judd said.
  Howard rolled his eyes. "Thanks."
  Judd dialed Westin, but the call didn't go
through.
  "A lot of the big towers are down," Howard said.
"I heard that before the power went out."
  By the time they made it to the airport, Judd's
watch showed the trip had taken an hour and a half.
He jammed the keys in his pocket, slammed the
door of the Beetle, and joined Vicki outside.
The sun was fading, and they had only an hour of
daylight left.
  "Don't be too hard on Howard," Vicki
whispered. "Westin will be back for us tomorrow, right?"
  Judd sighed. "I hope so, but you know if he
talks to anyone in the Trib Force they'll
blacklist us."
  Vicki shrugged. "Well, that'll just give us more
time together."
  Howard got out of the car and approached them with his
hands in his pockets. "I'm
sorry. I didn't mean to cause you trouble.
Guess I've really messed things up."
  Judd put a hand on Howard's shoulder.
"Everybody makes mistakes. I just hope you
live long enough to learn from them."
  "We need to find a place to hide, right?"
Howard said. "I think I might know the spot."
  Howard pointed to the parking garage, and
Judd parked the car behind some burned-out vehicles.
They wound their way through the stairwell, made it to the
roof, and found a spot by the door.
  "I'm hungry," Vicki said.
  Howard opened his backpack and pulled out a
couple of sandwiches and some candy bars. "I had these
stashed away in my little corner so I wouldn't have to go
out and eat with the others." He gave the food
to Vicki, and she divided it equally among them.
Judd rushed into the terminal and came back a few
minutes later with several bottles of water he had
found in an employee kitchen.
  "What do we do if the GC come tonight?" Howard
said.
  "The only people who knew about you are part of the ashes
of that library," Judd said.
  "What if somebody heard the plane?"
  Judd shrugged, and Vicki huddled close to him
as the sun finally went down. Judd tried
calling Westin, but the connection didn't ring. He
thought about calling the group in Wisconsin but decided
against it. They were on their own for the night.
  Vicki suggested they pray, and the three bowed their
heads. Judd and Vicki prayed freely and
paused to let Howard join.
  After a few seconds he took a breath and
struggled through a brief prayer. "God, I want
to thank you for these people who helped me. If the GC
had caught me back there, I don't know what would
have happened. I ask you to forgive me for being so ...
hardheaded and help Judd and Vicki make it
back to their friends."


  THIRTEEN
  The Longest Night
  Judd was surprised at how fast the
temperature dropped after the sun went down.
Vicki snuggled close, and the two tried to stay
warm. Though fires burned throughout the city, they
feared building one on the roof would draw attention.
  In the daytime, the only sounds Judd had heard,
other than their car and plane, were the crackling fires
and the whistling of the wind. At night, however, the city
seemed to come alive. Dogs barked, motorcycles
whined, and people shouted in the distance. But the worst sound was
the cries of people who had lost family and friends. The
highpitched wails of men and women in pain echoed through
the smoldering ruins.
  "I feel so bad for them," Vicki whispered.
"If they'd chosen God instead of Carpathia, they
wouldn't be hurting."
Judd looked at Howard, who was looking out at the
city over the concrete wall. "How long have you lived
here?"
  "All my life. I never thought I'd see
anything like this."
  "Tell us your story," Vicki said.
  "You don't want to know about me."
  "Come on," Judd said.
  Howard sighed, turned, and slid to a sitting
position. "My dad left when I was four or
five. My mom did her best, but by the time I was a
teenager, I didn't want anybody running my
life. She worked two jobs, so she was out till
all hours of the night.
  "I hung out with a bunch of friends, and a lot of times
I didn't even show up for school. We'd party
all night, which meant we'd buy some beer--we
didn't have much money for drugs. I guess you could
say I was wasted. I was just kind of out there."
  "You didn't know any Christians?" Vicki
said.
  Howard laughed. "I saw them on TV, you know,
the evangelists and all. Preachers who wanted me
to send money. I knew kids whose parents dragged
them to church, but they pretty much did the
same stuff I did.
  "But there was this one kid, Kirk. He was just as
wild as we were, only not in the same way."
"What do you mean?" Vicki said.
  "He could do stuff on a skateboard you wouldn't
believe. No helmet. No fear. He was
skinny, like me, with a pointy nose. He kind of
looked like a bird, come to think of it. His hair was
always sticking up in the back, and his body was always
moving. You know, even if he was standing still he was
moving, cracking his knuckles, crossing his legs,
snapping his neck. You just couldn't stop the guy."
  "What happened to him?" Vicki said.
  "We were hanging out one night when Kirk came
by. He was riding a new scooter he'd saved up
for. His dad didn't like him riding at night, but he
had to show it off. You should have seen his face when he
pulled up. You would have thought he had a Mercedes.
He'd been talking about the thing for a whole year."
Howard looked at the floor and pursed his lips.
  "What?" Judd said. "Did you do something to him?"
  "We made fun of it. We asked him why he
threw away his money on a toy. Said it would
probably only go ten miles an hour. I knew
we hurt him. He just wanted to show it
to us."
  "When you get with a group, it's hard not to put
others down," Vicki said.
"Yeah, well I never got the chance to tell him I
was sorry."
  "What happened?"
  "He gunned the thing and drove down an alley,
trying to show off. I told the other guys he was going
to wipe out if he wasn't careful. He must have been
going fifty when he came out the other side. We
heard a squeal and a crash. And when we got there, a
guy was standing by the scooter saying, 'He drove right
out in front of me." The impact had thrown
Kirk about thirty feet into some garbage cans.
He was still breathing when we got to him. The driver
called an ambulance. Kirk wasn't wearing a
helmet, and I'm not sure he had much of a chance,
anyway."
  "That must have been awful for you," Vicki said.
  "Yeah. I went to the hospital, but I couldn't
face his family. The next day I heard he'd
died and that all of us were invited to the funeral."
  "Did you go?" Judd said.
  Howard nodded. "It was the first time I heard any
kind of religion that made sense."
  "What do you mean?" Vicki said.
  "Kirk wasn't real religious, you know. He
didn't push it on any of us. When we'd get
beer or the occasional joint, he'd find some
excuse to leave. He did smoke cigarettes, but
I could tell he felt bad about it and tried like
everything to quit. He actually invited me and my
mom to church a couple of times, but I always made
some excuse.
  "Anyway, the funeral was at his church, and you
wouldn't believe all the people. There were church kids
sitting next to stoners and freaks. Just about every group
in school had known Kirk. We were there to say
goodbye and try to deal with the loss, but the family had
asked a guy to speak."
  "Someone from the church?" Judd said.
  "Yeah, a youth leader. He had kind of a
high-pitched voice and was short, but what he said
made all of us want to listen. He talked about
Kirk and nailed him. I mean, the guy knew him
inside and out. Even talked about Kirk's struggle
to kick tobacco.
  "Then he told us that we'd all known Kirk for a
reason. He was quiet for a moment, and I could hear
people sniffling. He said God had called us
to a divine appointment that day to hear Kirk's
biggest hope for each one of us.
  "He pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper and
put on his glasses. It was so quiet you could have
heard a mouse burp. I looked at Kirk's
mom and dad, and I don't think they even knew
what the guy was going to say."
Howard stopped his story and turned his head. "You
guys hear that?"
  Judd stood up. He had been so engrossed in
Howard's story that he had forgotten they were keeping
an eye out for the Global Community.
  "Maybe this wasn't the best place to hide,"
Vicki said.
  Judd peeked over the railing and scanned the
area. A black dog pawed at debris below them,
and Judd sighed. "Keep going. I want to hear
what happened."
  "So the guy pulls out this paper and starts reading.
I guess Kirk had asked a bunch of questions, and the
youth guy had told him to write down his thoughts and
dreams."
  "What was on the paper?" Vicki said.
  "Kirk started with something like, "I don't understand
why God could forgive me for the stuff I've
done and not forgive the others." You know, he just kind
of went off on God and asked why all his friends
seemed so unhappy and how Kirk felt guilty for
not reaching out to them and helping them. That was the main thing the
youth guy said, that Kirk came to him feeling
guilty that he didn't have the courage to tell all
of us about Jesus.
  "That's when he read the prayer. I'll never
forget it. "God, I'm asking you to give me the
courage to help all my friends hear about you.
I don't know how you're going to do it, but I ask you
to work through me to tell them the truth." That was it. The
guy folded the paper and put it back in his
pocket. He told us that God had worked it out to have
all of us in one place so we could hear about
Kirk's faith."
  "What did he say then?" Judd said.
  Howard bit his lip. "I remember him talking
about Jesus and dying on the cross and wanting
to forgive us, but I was so upset about being the reason
Kirk was dead that I couldn't concentrate. I
remember him saying that one day Jesus was going to come
back for his followers and take them away. When the
service was over, the youth guy asked people to come forward
and give their lives to God. I slipped
out the back door and went home."
  "Did you ever talk with the youth leader?" Judd
said.
  "I was going to a couple of times but chickened out.
I was also going to go see Kirk's parents and tell
them how sorry I was, but I never got the chance."
  "Why not? "Vicki said.
  "They all disappeared about two weeks later. A
lot of my friends I hung out with were gone. Some of the
goths. A bunch of the drama kids. There wasn't
a group that had been at that funeral that didn't
lose somebody.
There were all kinds of theories about what had happened
--from space aliens to some kind of chemical reaction
--but I knew as soon as I went back to school
and saw all those people gone that it was supernatural.
God had come back for his own, and I was left behind."
  "What did you do?" Vicki said.
  "I went back to the church. The youth guy had a
bunch of Bibles and some stuff to read. I took a
Bible and some of the papers and showed them to my mom. She
was the first to pray, and then I did." Howard looked
around the rooftop and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I know I haven't been a very good believer like you
guys, but I really want to be."
  "It's not about being good," Judd said. "If we
all had to live perfectly after God forgave us,
we'd be in deep trouble."
  "But I've done just about everything I could to make
my mom and the others who helped us miserable."
  "God wants to change you from the inside out,"
Vicki said, "but you have to let him."
  "I want that."
  "Then tell him," Vicki said. "Pray right now
and tell God you're giving him the rest of your life
to use however he wants. Thank him for saving you and
making you a
believer, and ask him to help you grow. He'll
do it. He really will."
  Howard bowed his head, and Judd saw his lips
moving.
  A siren wailed and all three jumped. They
crouched beneath the concrete wall and listened as a GC
squad car pulled into the airport. The swirling
lights cast eerie shadows through the hovering smoke.
When Judd heard voices, he crawled to the edge
and peeked over. A uniformed GC officer spoke
with a man at the airport entrance. Their voices
carried across the parking lot.
  "He came inside looking for something
to eat, I guess, but all he found was a few
bottles of water," the man said.
  "And he walked back outside?"
  "I think so. I wasn't about to follow into the
sunshine, but it didn't seem to bother him."
  "How long after the plane took off?" the officer
said.
  "About a half hour. I heard a rattle and
bang, like he was driving an old Volkswagen. You
can't miss those engines, the way they whistle and ping--"

  "Did you hear him drive off?" the officer
interrupted.
  "Come to think of it, I didn't. You suppose
those were Judah-ites? I heard they weren't
affected by the sun like we are."
  "Don't believe everything you hear, oldtimer.
I'm going to take a look around. If you help,
I'll make sure you get some food."
  "Thank you. I've got some stashed away in the
freezer. It's not that cold in there since the power's
been off. But I wouldn't mind helping you look."
  Judd slid back down. "Keep quiet. No
movement. Now would be a good time to think of a better
hiding place."
  "What time does the sun come up here?" Vicki
whispered.
  "A little after seven, I think," Howard said.
  It was 2:15 A.m. when the older man discovered
the Beetle hidden below them. Judd moved to the wall
and listened as the GC officer searched it. He
kicked himself for leaving the guns in the backseat.
  "Why would they leave a car out here where it would burn
in the morning?" the man said.
  "Maybe they're coming back before sunup. You stay
with the car. I'll search the garage."
  Judd hurried back to Vicki and Howard.
"Officer's headed our way."
  Howard pointed to a steel ladder that hung over the
side of the concrete wall. It was on the opposite
side from the Beetle.
"When the guy comes up, we can just hop over and stay
until he leaves."
  "We'd have to time it so we don't go over until
he's reached the top floor," Vicki said.
  Judd nodded. "Good. You two stay by the ladder,
and I'll crack the door and watch. When I
wave, go over and I'll join you."
  Vicki and Howard tiptoed to the other side of the
roof. Judd propped the door open with a
broken piece of concrete and strained to hear any
footsteps. His heart beat faster, and he tried
to take a deep breath. There was no room for panic
now.
  Judd couldn't believe the man had seen him in the
airport, and he was frustrated they had stayed in the
garage. There were a hundred other places in the
blocks surrounding the airport that would have made much
better hiding places.
  Judd glanced at his watch--2:47. Stars shone
clear in the sky, and he remembered Ryan
Fogarty's favorite bedtime song: "Twinkle,
twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.
..."
  Footsteps on the stairs. Judd moved
slightly for a better view and heard a door below
open and close. If he was right, the officer was on the
third floor, one floor
below them. It would take the man five minutes to go
through the debris and head for the roof.
  At 3:04 a door clattered below him and Judd
stood. A flashlight beam darted back and forth on
the wall below as the officer trudged up the last
flight of stairs. Judd waved wildly at
Vicki and Howard and flew across the garage
roof to join them. They were over the edge and hanging
onto the ladder when Judd scampered over the side.
He was just below the top of the wall when the door banged
open. Judd sighed and felt something tap his foot.
  "Should we go to the third floor?" Howard
whispered.
  Judd shook his head and mouthed, "Stay here."
  Judd listened to the officer and watched for the
flashlight beam to come closer.
  Suddenly, the man shouted, "He's been up here.
I found the empty water bottles and some food
wrappers."
  "Just one of them or are there more?" the man at the
Beetle yelled.
  "Can't tell. But the door was propped open.
They might still be around somewhere. I'm coming down."
  The door hinges creaked as the officer swung it
open. Judd smiled. Only four more
hours and the sun would be up. A squeal pierced the
night, and Judd's heart sank. His cell phone!



  FOURTEEN
  Night Moves
  Judd turned off his cell phone and motioned for
Vicki and Howard to climb down. The officer rushed
toward them above while Judd quickly slid
down the ladder and hopped onto the third-floor
wall. Vicki and Howard were already running for the
stairwell door on the other side of the building.
  "They're on the third floor!" the officer
yelled, out of breath. "Don't let them get the
car!"
  Judd raced to catch up as Vicki and Howard
ran down the stairs. When Judd hit the door, the
officer was still lumbering overhead.
  Howard put both hands on the rails and slid
down. Vicki took two steps at a time, and
Judd caught up to her easily. They were steps
away from the second-floor door when the
officer burst into the stairwell shouting for them to stop.
  "Where now?" Howard called from below.
  "Keep going," Judd said. "I don't think the
guy outside is armed. And stay close to the wall
in case----"
  A shot pinged in the stairwell. Vicki
screamed, and Judd grabbed her hand as they sprinted
down the last flight of stairs. They joined Howard
outside and were confronted by the older man holding a
metal pole.
  "Stop right there!" the man yelled.
  Judd pulled Howard to the door.
"Jam your foot here and don't let the officer out."
Vicki joined him and put her foot against the metal
door.
  "I'm warning you!" the man said. "Don't come
any closer."
  Judd had played enough football to know how to make
himself look menacing to quarterbacks on the other side
of the line. He gritted his teeth and lowered his
shoulder. The older man dropped the pole, turned,
and ran toward the terminal entrance, just as Judd
heard a loud thump at the door behind him.
  "What if he shoots?" Vicki said.
  "The bullet can't go through--"
  Bang!
  A one-inch hole appeared in the door and missed
Howard by less than a foot.
"Don't make me kill you. Get away from the
door!"
  Judd picked up the pole and raced forward.
  "I'm going to give you one more chance," the officer
yelled. "Now stand aside!"
  Judd rammed the pole through the door handle and
all the way to the other side. He pulled Vicki
and Howard away as the officer threw his weight against
the door again. It opened a few inches, but
no farther.
  "Head for the car," Judd hollered, pulling the
keys out.
  Judd jumped in the driver's side, and the car
started with a rumble and clatter. Vicki yelled a
warning from the backseat. The officer was aiming at them
through metal bars inside the garage. Judd swerved
and avoided the first shot. He yelled at Vicki and
Howard to get down right before the next shot shattered the
back window.
  Judd floored the accelerator and pulled away.
Unless the officer was a great shot, he'd never hit
them, and he didn't. But as they raced out of the
airport road, Judd noticed swirling lights.
  "We've got a head start, but not much of one,"
Judd said. "Howard, any ideas on where we should
go?"
The VW chugged along as Howard directed Judd
through a maze of roads near burned out buildings.
Judd kept his lights off, driving by moonlight
and the glow of fires.
  "Take a left here," Howard said, and Judd
turned into a skate park.
  "This is too out in the open," Judd said. "We
need to--"
  "Go over the curb and down that little hill," Howard
said.
  "Hang on," Judd said.
  They bounced over the curb and raced down an
incline, stopping near a drainage pipe twice the
size of the car. He pulled in and turned off the
motor.
  "We used to come down here when one of us was in
trouble," Howard said. "You can't see it, but the opening
goes all the way to the other side of the road." "This
is perfect," Vicki said.
  "Yeah, unless somebody heard us and reports us
to the GC," Judd said.
  When a vehicle passed overhead, Judd
pulled out his phone and turned it on. A call had
come from Westin, so Judd dialed him back and
explained what had happened. Westin said he had
felt guilty for taking off without him. "Where are you
now?" Judd said.
  "We made it to Kansas before we lost the
sun," Westin said. "Couldn't risk the Wisconsin
trip because we were so late. I have some friends here who
live close to an old airport. They took us
all in. What about Howard?"
  Judd gave Westin the good news, and
Howard got on the phone and spoke briefly with his
mother. He seemed moved by his mom's voice.
  "I hope nothing bad happens to these two because of
me," Howard said. "All they were trying to do was save
me."
  Westin told Judd he would fly to the airport
with Howard's mother at noon the next day.
  "What about the people we were going to take
to Wisconsin?" Judd said.
  "Change of plans. There's a flight coming from
Wyoming in a few hours. These people will go there, while
you take Howard and his mom to Wisconsin."
  "I have to know, is this going to affect the way the
Trib Force looks at me?"
  Westin paused. "I told the Trib Force this was
my idea."
  "But that's not true--"
  "Right. So kick me out of the choir. Steele
chewed me out, said I was playing hot dog with people's
lives, and I apologized."
  "But this wasn't your fault. I was the one--"
"Judd, I took the blame. Maybe I shouldn't
have, but I did. You're square with them, okay?
See you at noon."
^
  Vicki never felt so grateful to see
the sun rise the next morning. Instead of being chased
like animals, they were free to roam the
neighborhoods and head back to the airport.
  In a gesture of goodwill, Howard left food
in front of the freezer for the old man. "We must have
scared him to death last night. Least we can do is
give him something to eat."
  The flight to Wisconsin went as planned.
Howard's mother couldn't stop thanking Judd and
Vicki for their help and said she would make it up
to them somehow.
  The group in Wisconsin welcomed the two
newcomers with open arms. Howard seemed most
pleased to meet Zeke, who looked nothing like what
he expected in an "assistant pastor."
  The Tribulation Force continued moving people and
supplies around the country and the world, though the
Global Community had tried to adapt. News from
Oregon disturbed Vicki and the others when they found
out about a new GC plan that affected believers.
"The GC moved into the lava tubes in Oregon,"
Mark said a few days after Judd and Vicki
returned.
  "Lava tubes?" Charlie said.
  "They're natural rock formations made
by volcanoes," Mark said. "Miles of tunnels
believers have been using since we were forced to go
underground. Once the plague of heat hit, GC
survivors decided to move into them at night because the
temperature is so cool during the day. They
surprised some believers, and a bunch of them were
executed." 
"Why couldn't someone have helped?" Vicki said.
  "These believers were pretty cut off from anyone
outside. They were living on their own."
  Other members of the Tribulation Force passed
along stories of believers eluding the GC in
China, the Philippines, Australia, and other
locations. The 144,000 evangelists continued their
preaching, and many undecided became believers. This
encouraged the Wisconsin group, knowing that there were still
some without Carpathia's mark, but everyone knew the
numbers were dwindling.
  Though Vicki didn't like to be separated from
Judd, they each took separate trips as
requested by the Tribulation Force to help
believers with supplies, food, and new places
to live. In some cases, Vicki was asked to go because
she had been the main contact for younger believers who
had seen her at one of the stadium events.
At other locations, the Trib Force needed help
loading and unloading materials, and Judd
volunteered. Most of these were daylong flights or
drives, so they were back with each other the next day.
  As time went on, Vicki wondered what Judd
was thinking about their relationship. They had become more
serious, and everyone in the Wisconsin group wondered
if Judd would propose. "I'm content however things
work out," Vicki told her friends, "but I'll
admit I wouldn't mind being Mrs. Judd
Thompson."
^
  Judd agonized over the marriage question. He
knew Vicki was the one for him, if he did
decide to get married, but things seemed to be going so
well that he didn't want to mess up their friendship.
Judd pored over the Scriptures and asked people's
advice.
  Zeke was a big help, saying that if God
planted a desire for marriage, there wasn't
anything to hold him back. "You have to ask yourself --
are you ready to love another human being the way
God loves you?"
  13. Known as the love chapter, Judd read the
verses, then wrote a segment of the passage in his
own words.
  Love is so patient and kind that others can see
it, taste it, and smell it. Love isn't jealous
when someone else succeeds, isn't rude, doesn't
boast, and certainly isn't prideful Love
doesn't want things a certain way and doesn't
get irritated over little things. Love doesn't
keep a scorecard. When a wrong is committed, a
person who loves doesn't hold that over the other
person's head. A person who loves isn't
glad about people who are treated unfairly, but is
glad when the truth is seen and welcomed. Love
simply does not give up, it never loses faith
or hope, and in every circumstance, no matter what that
circumstance is, love keeps on going.
  Judd studied the list and shook his head. Love
is pretty tough to accomplish, he thought. As he
looked over his words and the other parts of the passage,
he was struck by how many of these verses Vicki
lived. She was never jealous of anyone who succeeded,
was
never proud or boastful about her accomplishments, and
seemed to always put others ahead of herself. Even when
Judd was asked to go on trips for the Trib Force,
she seemed genuinely excited for his
opportunities.
  Though it scared him, it was on that flight that Judd
finally made up his mind to ask Vicki the most
important question of his life. "Perfect love
expels all fear," Judd thought. Zeke loved
quoting that verse. Maybe he was right.
^
  Vicki was excited when Judd asked her to help
him deliver supplies to a Wisconsin group she
had never heard of. Judd said they would be gone a
few hours and that she might want to bring some food
along, so she packed a lunch and they set out after ten
that morning.
  They chatted about the way things were going with the group,
how much help Charlie had been, and how glad they were
that he had become part of the group. Vicki had received
an e-mail from Wanda that morning reporting good
progress by Cheryl.
  "You think she'll ever come back?" Judd said.
  "Wanda doesn't think it's a good idea yet,
but if Cheryl keeps working on getting healthy--"
Vicki pointed to her head--"I wouldn't be
surprised to see her again."
  "Ryan Victor sure is full of spunk,"
Judd said.
  Vicki laughed and repeated a story about the boy
Josey had told her the day before. Ryan
had truly been the bright spot in their lives the past
two years.
  Vicki noticed a cloud of dust in one of the
mirrors and turned. "Do you see that?"
  Judd glanced back. "Looks like smoke from a
building."
  "No, it came from beside the road, like someone just
pulled out." Vicki peered through the back windshield
and yelped. "Judd, there's a car coming this way."
  "Well, we don't have anything to worry about,
right? It has to be a believer or the car would be
burning up by now."
  "I suppose you're right, but what if the
plague's lifted? Or maybe the GC has
figured out a way to overcome the effects--"
  "I see lights on top of that car," Judd
interrupted.
  "Step on it. We can lose whoever it is in this
Humvee."
  Judd sped up, but the car gained on them.
Vicki's heart beat faster and faster.
The car was right behind them and Judd slowed.
  "What are you doing? Keep going."
  "Let's see who it is."
  "What are you talking about? That guy's
GC. I know it!"
  Judd pulled to the side of the road and stopped.
Vicki stared in disbelief as a man in a Global
Community uniform stepped from the car pointing a gun
at the Humvee.
  Judd rolled down his window and studied the
rearview mirror. "Let's play this straight.
Just do what he says and we'll be okay."
  "Both of you step out of the car," the officer said.
  Judd put a hand on Vicki's shoulder.
"We'll be okay. Just get out."
  Vicki opened the door and climbed out. She
looked for a place to run, but the officer motioned her
to the rear of the Humvee. The air felt warm, so the
plague was still in effect.
  "You, redhead, walk slowly toward me with your
hands up," the officer said.
  Vicki did as she was told.
  "What do you want with us?" Judd said.
  "Shut up and come with me, punk."
  "No! "Vicki said
  "Hands on the back of the car!" the officer warned
  Vicki turned. She couldn't believe they had
been caught. They had gone through so much, too much to have
it end like this.
  "You," the officer said to Judd, "on your
knees."
  Judd knelt behind the car, and Vicki glanced at
the officer, who slowly walked toward them. The man
stopped near Judd, bolstered his gun, and pulled
something out of his pocket. "I believe this is yours,
young man. And I think you know what to do with it."
  Vicki turned, her brow furrowed. The officer
had given Judd a tiny box, and Judd smiled.
The officer took off his sunglasses and pushed his
hat up, showing the mark of the true believer.
  "Zeke?" Vicki said.
  "Pay attention to what's happening, redhead,"
Zeke said.
  Vicki glanced at Judd, who was still on one
knee. "Vicki, I have known you almost six years,
and though we've had some difficult days, the last
few weeks have been the happiest of my life."
  Vicki covered her mouth with a hand as Judd opened
the box, revealing a sparkling ring.
  "I've come to love you, Vicki, and I want
to share the rest of my days with you, before our Lord
returns." He pulled the ring from
the box and held it out. His voice broke when he
said, "Will you marry me?"
  Tears stung Vicki's eyes as she slipped the
ring on her finger. Vicki fell into Judd's arms
and they kissed. Her voice trembled as she
whispered, "Yes."



  FIFTEEN
  Westin's Idea
  WHEN Vicki returned to the camp in Avery, the
others had put together an engagement party for her and
Judd. Zeke had told everyone what was going on,
and Josey had made a cake.
  Lionel could hardly contain himself. He kept
slapping Judd on the back, smiling, laughing, and
shaking his head. "You finally did it!"
  After Vicki recovered from the shock of the creative
way Judd had asked her to marry him, she socked
him in the shoulder for scaring her with the GC trick.
"You just about gave me a heart attack! I thought
we were both dead."
  Judd smiled. "I thought it would be memorable.
Who wants to tell everybody a boring engagement
story?"
They both met with Marshall to talk about their next
step. To her surprise, Vicki discovered there were a
few at the camp who thought it wasn't a good idea
for them to get married.
  "I've had conversations with some who think these kinds
of things shouldn't be happening," Marshall said. "But this
is a personal decision, and you two have shown good
judgment through this dating process."
  "What do you mean?" Judd said.
  "Let's just say people have been watching you two to see
if you'd become clingy with each other. You know, to see
if you'd be so "in love" that you wouldn't be able
to concentrate on anything else. But we've been
pleased with how you've handled this."
  "Vicki and I were talking about dates for the
wedding," Judd said. "Is there a set waiting
period?"
  "That's up to you, though I would suggest you go through a
marriage counseling course."
  "What will that do?" Vicki said.
  "It helps prepare you for the big changes ahead.
We could set up the sessions and have them done as fast
as possible."
  Judd bit his lip. "I know this is a long
shot, but would there be any way to link with Dr.
Ben-Judah and have him perform the ceremony?"
"We were talking," Vicki continued, "and outside of
Bruce Barnes, the person who has mentored us
most is Dr. Ben-Judah, even though
it's been mostly through his writing."
  Marshall scratched his chin. "Why don't you
e-mail him and see?"
  Judd wrote the e-mail and let Vicki read
it. "Perfect," she said. He sent it directly
to Dr. Ben-Judah and copied Sam Goldberg and
Mr. Stein. Vicki wrote Chloe Steele and a
few others she thought would be interested in their news.
Within an hour, a flood of messages came
back.
  I'm so happy for you, Vicki and Judd,
Chloe wrote. I think you'll find marriage one
of the most challenging and rewarding things you'll ever do.
I can't imagine not having married Buck, in
spite of how little time we have left.
  Rayford Steele also wrote. Judd was a little
anxious, but he was relieved when he read
Rayfbrd's message. I've been married
twice, and only once as a believer. Having
someone share the good and bad times is one of the greatest
comforts I've experienced. You two will be a great
team!
  Westin wrote from his plane somewhere
over the Atlantic Ocean. I couldn't be happier
for you. Actually, I might be able to give
you a pretty good present. Let me know when you
two are planning the ceremony.
  "What could he be talking about?" Vicki said.
  Judd shrugged. "Knowing Westin, it could be
anything."
  The next day Dr. Ben-Judah wrote and
congratulated Judd and Vicki. I would be proud
to unite the two of you if we can work out the technical
details. In the meantime, you should both seek the Lord
in prayer as to where you should live. It may be that he
wants you to stay in Wisconsin with your friends. We
could also use a young married couple here in Petra.
Consider this and let me know when you would like to arrange the
ceremony.
  Vicki's mouth opened wide. "I've heard so
much about Petra, but I can't imagine actually
living there."
  "It would be a great place to start a new life,"
Judd said. "But what about our friends?"
  "It'd be hard to leave, but if we're together, I
could call anywhere home."
  Two weeks later, just after a counseling
session with Marshall, Mark held up the phone in the
main cabin. "It's Westin. I think you'll want
to take this."
  Judd heard plane noise as he answered the
phone. "New plan," Westin said. "And you should know
I've cleared this with the Trib Force."
  "What are you talking about?"
  "Remember my surprise to you and Vicki?
Well, I heard about Dr. Ben-Judah's offer
to have you come to Petra. I have an important run
next week to some believers near New Babylon,
and I'd like you to come with me."
  "Just me? "Judd said.
  "Last trip as a bachelor," Westin said. "You
help me with the New Babylon drop, and then we go
to Petra so you can build your honeymoon
cottage."
  "I've seen the homes there, and there's not much
to them."
  "Still, you could get things ready for Vicki. Then
she'd come on my next trip back."
  Judd looked at Vicki and smiled. "What
about my best man? He's here in Wisconsin."
  "I can bring him with Vicki and anybody else
who might want to relocate to the safest place on
earth."
Vicki hugged Judd tightly and looked into his
eyes. "The next time I see you, I'll
be walking down the aisle -- or the rocks or
whatever they call it in Petra."
  "I don't think I can find a tux," Judd
said, "I hope you won't be too disappointed."
  "Something about this plan scares me," Vicki said.
  "We've waited this long. Another week's not a
big deal."
  "Just be careful."
  Judd met Westin in Hudson, Wisconsin,
and was amazed at the amount of supplies packed
onto the plane. Westin said the believers near
New Babylon were a little mysterious, not having much
contact with the outside world, but they were prepared to ride
out their remaining days right under the noses of the Global
Community. The contact they had made with Westin
wasn't through the Tribulation Force but from a man named
Otto, who had moved to New Babylon from
Germany.
  "That's about all I know," Westin said, "other
than they've been fighting the GC every chance they
get."
"You mean fighting, as in guns?" Judd said.
  "Hey, the last battle is coming, and you need
to get ready. Armageddon. I'm not going to miss
it."
  "I thought Armageddon was where God smashed the
armies of the Antichrist."
  "It is, but God's used his followers up to now,
so why wouldn't he use us in battle? You should hear
Dr. Ben-Judah preach about it. He's really
stirred me up to think I can be part of it."
  Judd settled in for the long flight and sent
Vicki an e-mail. When the disappearances
happened, it was scary and really sad. But part of it was
exciting because we were on our own, without parents telling
us what to do. But like Marshall told us in one of our
sessions, everything we do from now on will be done together!
  The plane touched down near Petra, and Judd
spent a day meeting old friends and scouting a place
to build a small shelter. Sam Goldberg showed
him several sites, and Mr. Stein said there would be
plenty of help and materials.
  "We don't have all the modern conveniences,"
Mr. Stein said, "but we have fresh food provided
by God every day and wonderful teaching, not to mention fresh
water."
After visiting the communications center and greeting
Naomi Tiberius, Judd rested for the trip the
next day to New Babylon.
^
  Vicki watched the news coverage about
changes in the past two days and felt concerned about
Judd. The blood had turned back to water in
streams, signaling the end of the third Bowl
Judgment. An urgent message from Chang Wong
came not long after.
  In my monitoring of Carpathia over the last
few days, I believe we have reached a turning
point. He is still occupied with the "Jewish problem,"
as he calls it. Just when Carpathia and Akbar
thought they had devised a plan to kill Jewish
believers in Jerusalem, the sun plague hit and the
GC were sent underground. In fact, the number of
Global Community forces who have died is staggering.
But they still have a lot of firepower available.
  Of particular interest to me was a phone call I
recorded between the potentate and his security chief,
Suhail Akbar. I send this transcript not
to scare but to warn you of the seriousness of the threat.
Carpathia: Suhail, these plagues have always had
their seasons. This one has to end sometime. And when it
does, that may be the time for us to pull out the half of
our munitions and equipment that we have in reserve.
Would you estimate that the confidentiality level on that
stockpile remains secure?
  Akbar: To the best of my knowledge,
Excellency.
  Carpathia: When the sun curse lifts,
Director, when you can stand being out in the light of day
again, let us be ready to mount the most massive
offensive in the history of mankind. I have not yet
conceded even Petra, but I want the Jews wherever
they are. I want them from Israel, particularly
Jerusalem. And I will not be distracted or dissuaded
by our whining friends in northern Africa. Suhail,
if you have ever wanted to please me, ever wanted
to impress me, ever wanted to make yourself
indispensable to me, give yourself to this task. The
planning, the strategy, the use of resources should
make every other war strategist
in history hang his head in shame. I want you
to knock me out, Suhail, and I am telling you that
resources--monetary and military-- are limitless.
  Akbar: Thank you, sir. I won't let you
down.
  Carpathia: Did you get that, Suhail?
Limitless.
^
  After Judd's plane touched down in a remote
area outside of New Babylon, he met with one
of the leaders of the mysterious group, Rainer
Kurtzmann, a former stage actor from
Germany who had become a believer not long after the
disappearances.
  After Judd and the others loaded supplies
into several of the group's vehicles and headed for
Carpathia's city, Rainer took another route
to give Judd and Westin a tour. The effects of the
sun plague had left the city in ruins. Lavish
parks with fountains and flowers were reduced to ashes.
Judd noticed Rainer was wearing a gun, and Judd
asked him why.
  "We came from Germany, where fighting the GC was
getting boring. One of the leaders of a nearby group,
Otto Weser, convinced us from Scripture that there
would be believers
in New Babylon during this time. So we came, and
we have survived."
  "I can't imagine living here without the mark of
Carpathia, right under his nose," Judd said.
  "I couldn't either. Some said we would be killed before
we ever found a place to stay, but here we are, moving
supplies into our underground hideout."
  "Have you lost any members?"
  Rainer gave Judd a pained look. "Yes, but
I'd rather not talk about that now."
  Judd nodded.
  Back at the safe house, Judd and the others
enjoyed a meal together. Everyone wanted to hear about
Judd's experience in New Babylon, and he
described his adventures, though he kept the
information about Chang Wong private.
  The conversation was so interesting that Judd and Westin
stayed past their deadline to get back to Petra before
dark, so the group made room for them. As the sun
went down, Judd watched the group go through their
complex routine of securing the hideout. A few
days after the sun plague began, the group had
burned the top of their house to make it look like the
others surrounding it.
  Judd found it difficult to sleep in the
enclosed hideaway. It was so different than the
camp in Wisconsin, where they felt safe at all
hours. A team kept watch over video screens
throughout the night, looking for any irregular GC
movement.
  When morning came, Judd headed outside
to watch the sunrise but was stopped by a female
member of the group. "We aren't allowed out until the
sun is fully up. I'm sorry."
  Judd went to the breakfast area, where he wouldn't
disturb anyone, and dialed Chang Wong.
  Chang was out of breath when he answered the
private line. "Judd, I hope you're calling
from Petra."
  "Actually, I'm not. Why?"
  "Show's over."
  "What?"
  "Though I've been immune to the sun plague,
I've still felt the difference in temperature and
humidity. A few minutes ago I woke up,
and the air feels different." Judd heard Chang
clicking at his computer. "Yeah, I'm right. The
temperature here is normal."
  Judd's heart sank. "Maybe when the sun
gets higher--"
  "No, usually at this time of the morning things have
begun to burn."
  Judd tried to hold back his emotion. He
had tried so hard to get back to Vicki, and now he
was a million miles from her in the most hostile
location on the planet.
  "Where are you?" Chang said.
  "You're not going to believe it," Judd said.



ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  Jerry B. Jenkins (www.jerryjenkins.com)
is the writer of the Left Behind series.
He owns the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian
Writers Guild, an organization dedicated
to mentoring aspiring authors. Former vice
president for publishing for the Moody Bible
Institute of Chicago, he also served many years as
editor of Moody magazine and is now Moody's
writer-at-large.
  His writing has appeared in publications as varied
as Reader's Digest, Parade, Gmdeposts,
in-flight magazines, and dozens of other
periodicals. Jenkins's biographies include
books with Billy Graham, Hank Aaron,
Bill Gaither, Luis Palau, Walter
Payton, Orel Hershiser, and Nolan Ryan,
among many others. His books appear regularly on
the New York Times, USA Today, Wall
Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly
best-seller lists.
  Jerry is also the writer of the nationally syndicated
sports story comic strip Gil Thorp,
distributed to newspapers across the United States
by Tribune Media Services.
  Jerry and his wife, Dianna, live in
Colorado and have three grown sons.
Dr. Tim LaHaye
(www.timlahaye.com), who conceived the idea of
fictionalizing an account of the Rapture and the
Tribulation, is a noted author, minister, and
nationally recognized speaker on Bible prophecy.
He is the founder of both Tim LaHaye
Ministries and The PreTrib Research Center.
He also recently cofounded the Tim LaHaye
School of Prophecy at Liberty University
Presently Dr. LaHaye speaks at many of the
major Bible prophecy conferences in the U.s. and
Canada, where his current prophecy books are very
popular.
  Dr. LaHaye holds a doctor of ministry
degree from Western Theological Seminary and a
doctor of literature degree from Liberty
University. For twenty-five years he pastored
one of the nation's outstanding churches in San Diego,
which grew to three locations. It was during that time that he
founded two accredited Christian high schools, a
Christian school system often schools, and
Christian Heritage College.
  Dr. LaHaye has written over forty books
that have been published in more than thirty languages.
He has written books on a wide variety of
subjects, such as family life,
temperaments, and Bible prophecy. His current
fiction works, the Left Behind series, written with
Jerry B. Jenkins, continue to appear on the
bestseller lists of the Christian Booksellers
Association, Publishers Weekly, Wall
Street Journal, USA Today, and the New York
Times.
  He is the father of four grown children and grandfather of
nine. Snow skiing, waterskiing, motorcycling,
golfing, vacationing with family, and jogging are among his
leisure activities.
The Future Is Clear
  Check out the exciting Left Behind: The Kids
series
  1: The Vanishings 2: Second Chance
3: Through the Flames 4: Facing the Future
5: Nicolae High 6: The Underground 7:
Busted!
  8: Death Strike
  9: The Search
  10: On the Run
  11: Into the Storm
  12: Earthquake! 13: The Showdown
  14: Judgment Day 15: Battling the
Commander 16: Fire from Heaven
  17: Terror in the Stadium
  18: Darkening Skies 19: Attack of
Apollyon 20: A Dangerous Plan 21:
Secrets of New Babylon
  22: Escape from New
  Babylon
  23: Horsemen of Terror
  24: Uplink from the
  Underground 25: Death at the Gala
  26: The Beast Arises
  27: Wildfire!
  28: The Mark of the Beast
  29: Breakout!
  30: Murder in the Holy Place 31:
Escape to Masada 32: War of the Dragon
33: Attack on Petra
  34: Bounty Hunters 35: The Rise of
False
  Messiahs
  36: Ominous Choices
  37: 38: The Perils of Love
  BOOKS 39 AND 40 COMING SOON!
  wwwddlef tbehind.com
Hooked on the exciting
  Left Behind: The Kids series?
  Then you'll love the dramatic audios!
  Listen as the characters come to life in this theatrical
  audio that makes the saga of those left behind
  even more exciting.
  High-tech sound effects, original music,
  and professional actors will have you
  on the edge of your seat.
  Experience the heart-stopping action and suspense
of the end times for yourself!
  Five exciting volumes available on CD
or cassette.