THE ROAD TO WAR: FACING THE
GUILLOTINE (Left BEHIND. THE KIDS)
  by Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye and
Chris Fabry
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
[*copy] 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[*copy]
1979,1980,1982,1991 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
  Characters in this novel sometimes speak words that are
adapted from various versions of the Bible, including the
King James Version and the New King James
Version.
  Edited by Lorie Popp
  ISBN 0-8423-8349-2, mass paper
  Printed in the United States of America



To Alex, Andrew, and Kevin Roberts



TABLE OF CONTENTS
  What's Gone On Before xi
  1. Mysterious Message 1
  2. Closing In 13
  3. Mark's Run 25
  4. Commander Fulcire 35 
5. In the Trap
  6. The Visitor 57
  7. The Mission 69
  8. Interrogation 81
  9. Eyewitness Report 95
  10. The Blade 109
  11. Tsion's Message 121
  12. The Evil Trio 131
  13. Tribulation Christmas 145
  14. To Jerusalem 157
  15. Rumbling Earth 171
  About the Authors


THE YOUNG TRIBULATION
  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
Petra
  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
  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. After the GC corners Judd and his friends,
darkness falls on New Babylon, causing many
Carpathia followers to end their lives. Because of the
plague, Judd and other believers can walk
into government buildings and even concentration camps and
help people escape.
  Vicki and Lionel get a chance to fly
to Petra and take it. Though it is difficult
to say goodbye to their friends in Wisconsin, Vicki
is excited about her new life and prays Judd will
make it safely from New Babylon.
  Judd returns to Petra, but the joyful
reunion turns sad as live coverage of Chloe
Williams" execution is shown on the Global
Community News Network. Everyone is amazed at
Chloe's brave attitude as she has one more chance
to tell people the truth about God before she dies.
After linking up with their friends in Wisconsin by computer,
Vicki and Judd are married in a small
ceremony a few days later. Tsion Ben-Judah
performs the wedding, and Lionel is Judd's best
man.
  Join the kids as they begin a new life together and
try to survive the final days before the Battle of
Armageddon.


  ONE
  Mysterious Message
  LIONEL Washington smiled as he sat in
front of a computer deep in a cave in Petra.
He still couldn't believe that Judd and Vicki were
married. He had been with them just after they had first met
in Mount Prospect, and he would have never guessed
they would wind up together. He replayed video from the
ceremony a few days earlier and shook his head.
God worked this out, he thought.
  Chang Wong had set Lionel up with the computer
and showed him how to access the Global Community's
vast network. With a few clicks of the mouse,
Lionel listened in on one of Nicolae
Carpathia's secret meetings, or heard what was
going on in the control room at the Global
Community News Network. Chang had even given
him software to control the computer with his voice, but
Lionel preferred the old-fashioned way.
Lionel touched the stump of his left arm and counted the
months since his accident in Indiana. He
wasn't having nightmares as much, but he still found it
hard to get to sleep. Sometimes he stayed up all
night at the computer, trying to figure out what would
happen next on God's timetable.
  He had renewed his friendship with Sam Goldberg
and Mr. Stein, eating manna and quail with them just
about every day. But Lionel had to admit he longed for
his friends back in the States. It was strange. He
was in the safest place on earth, supernaturally
protected by God from Carpathia and his growing
armies, but Lionel longed for Wisconsin.
  In a way, he felt useless and pitied. When
assignments were handed out, Lionel was always given the
soft jobs or nothing at all. He wanted
to build things or help with chores, but he often found
himself back at the computer alone.
  As the yellow glow of the rising sun peeked through the
opening to the cave, Lionel yawned and stretched. People
would gather manna soon. Little kids would run through the
camp. He loved playing with them,
especially Kenny Williams, but Kenny spent
most of his time with Buck now, asking questions about his mother.
Instead of heading for bed, Lionel clicked on the
link for the Global Community in the United North
American States. Things had gotten worse there
in the past few days. The GC seemed to be taking
out their frustration about the darkness in New Babylon
on those without the mark. Reports of people being dragged from
hiding places and executed had increased.
  Lionel winced as he pulled up a report from
GCNN detailing another raid on what looked like
a militia hideout in Minnesota, fifty
miles west of the Mississippi River. These people
didn't have the mark of the believer or of Carpathia.
They were hauled from their underground hiding place and
herded onto trucks.
  The camera focused on a smiling Commander
Kruno Fulcire, head of the Rebel
Apprehension Program. "We're very pleased with the
level of cooperation from the people of this community," he
said.
  "How did you know they were here?" a reporter
asked.
  "We actually had a tip from family members of
one of the unmarked. They, of course, will receive
the full reward offered to those who help uncover
rebels."
"Will there be more arrests and executions in this part of the
country?" the reporter said.
  Fulcire squinted. "I can't give that information,
but we hope to have significant developments in the
coming days."
  Lionel sat forward and pulled up a map of the
region. The site of the arrests wasn't that far from the
Avery, Wisconsin, hideout. He quickly sent a
warning message to Mark and the others.
^
  Mark Eisman held his head in his hands while
several people filed out of the main cabin in Wisconsin.
Maggie Carlson put a hand on his shoulder before she
left. Others weren't so kind, with mean looks and
whispers.
  Marshall Jameson paced in front of the
computer. "I understand your feelings, Mark. I've
wanted to start a rebel radio station to tell people the
truth, but some things are too dangerous."
  "Why are we so concerned about staying safe?" Mark
said. "Isn't it more important to get the message
out?"
  Conrad Graham slapped his hands on his knees.
"If that's your goal, I might go along with
you, but you're talking about fighting
the GC. What could you possibly accomplish?"
  "You saw what they did to Chloe," Mark said.
"If somebody had tried to take those Peacekeepers
out before they caught her, she wouldn't have lost her
head."
  "Reports from the Trib Force say she went
outside trying to protect her family and friends,"
Marshall said. "But a rescue mission would have
backfired. They didn't even know where she was."
  Conrad stood. "I hate just sitting here as much as
you do, but if you go out there, we'll be seeing your face
flashed on TV."
  "You guys don't need me," Mark said. "We
have enough people to staff the Web site twenty-four hours a
day with people left over."
  "Okay, so what do you want to do?" Marshall
said.
  "Find those RAP people, Fulcire if I can, and
give them a dose of their own medicine." Mark
glanced at Conrad, then at Marshall. "If you
want to know the truth, I've already packed my
stuff."
  Colin Dial sat in the corner. He cleared his
throat and said, "What if we could find a
way to get you closer to the action?" Marshall frowned
but Colin held up a hand. "I don't want
to see him get into trouble, but if he
could get closer to the main headquarter south of
Chicago, maybe he could do some good before this is all
over."
  "What was the name of the lady and her son living near
Chicago?" Marshall said. "The one Vicki and
you guys met at the schoolhouse." 
  "Lenore?" Conrad said.
  "That's right!" Mark said. "She was staying southwest
of Chicago, wasn't she?"
  "I've got her number on my cell," Conrad
said, handing a phone to Mark.
  Mark punched the Redial button and waited.
He heard a weird noise but no dial tone.
"Something's wrong with it."
  Mark found Lenore's e-mail address and
looked through past messages to Vicki and the group.
He quickly wrote her and sent the message.
^
  Vicki awoke to sunshine peeking through the lone
window of her and Judd's small dwelling. They
couldn't call it a house, but it wasn't a shack
either. There was enough room for a nice-sized bed, a
cabinet to hold their clothes, a computer
desk, and a small table.
  Vicki noticed Judd was gone and smiled. There
was no question where he was.
stretched. Being married than she had thought, already been
disagreements to Her childhood image of ever after" was
gone. Marriage was truly a lot of work.
  Vicki thought of her friends in Wisconsin. They
had seen the ceremony via computer, but it wasn't the
same as being there. She would have liked Shelly and
Melinda and Janie to be bridesmaids, but that had
been out of the question. Life wasn't normal and never
would be again. But within a few months Jesus would
return. Vicki had lived the past six and a half
years yearning for him to come back and set things right.
Now she would experience the event with her husband.
Husband, Vicki thought. The word made her shoulders
tremble.
  There was a slight knock and Judd entered.
"Ready for breakfast in bed?"
  Vicki chuckled. "Are you going to do this every day
until Jesus comes back?"
  Judd smiled, set down a pitcher of cool
water, and handed her a plate filled with fresh
manna. "Wouldn't be a bad job," he said,
sitting cross-legged on the bed. "You
sleep okay?"
Vicki nodded. "Though it took a while last
night. I kept thinking about lunch today. Have you heard
anything from Dr. Ben-Judah?"
  "I guess we'll hear something if it's off."
  Vicki had figured she would get tired of eating
the same food, but each morning the honey wafers
tasted great. She recalled advertisements for
restaurants that claimed their donuts or
croissants melted in your mouth, but the manna
literally dissolved on her tongue. It was light,
flaky, and tasted good any time of the day. Vicki
wondered if God had put extra vitamins in the
food to satisfy their hunger.
  "You know, we could have made a lot of money if
we'd have gotten this recipe before the Tribulation
started," Vicki said. "Even people who were overweight
when they came here have lost pounds eating this."
  "Just shows that God's food is best," Judd
said, taking a bite of a wafer. He put the plate
down and wiped his hands. "I know you might be tired of
hearing this, but you've made me the happiest guy in
Petra."
  Vicki smiled. "I never get tired of hearing
that. But sometimes..."
  "What?"
  "Well, I look at Buck Williams who
lost Chloe and Dr. Ben-Judah who lost his
wife
and children. I see their pain and almost feel guilty for
feeling . . . happy."
  "I know what you mean. I met a guy yesterday
who lost his brother and dad to the false messiah's
vipers. Every day he wakes up knowing they're never
coming back."
  "I met a woman a few days ago who has
family in Jerusalem. She doesn't think
they've taken Carpathia's mark, but there's no way
to tell. She can't reach them."
  "Maybe we can bring this up with Dr.
BenJudah," Judd said.
  They finished breakfast, then took a long walk
to the fountain. It was one of Vicki's favorite
things to do -- walk hand in hand with Judd around the
sprawling camp, watching people, looking at the rock
formations, meeting new friends. Vicki couldn't
imagine being any happier.
^
  Mark rolled his clothes and a small supply of
food into his sleeping bag and tied it tightly.
He slipped a gun Zeke had left behind
into his pocket, but Mark knew there was no way he
could overpower the GC. He would have to outsmart them rather
than outgun them.
   As he moved his things outside, he noticed
Charlie standing by the window. The crisp,
fall air was cool, and he could see Charlie's
breath. "You want to come inside?"
  Charlie nodded and entered, pulling his hooded
sweatshirt over his head. He looked at the floor
and blinked. "What's up?" Mark said.
  "I heard what you're thinking about doing," Charlie
said, pawing at the floor with a foot.
  "And?"
  "And I wish you'd stay."
  "Charlie--"
  "But if you won't, I want to go with you."
  Mark put a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "I'm
sure I could use the help--but not this time."
  "You know the GC are mean people, putting Chloe in
that head chopper and all. They won't stop, and if
they catch you ... I think something bad's going
to happen."
  "Nothing's going to happen to me," Mark said. "I
hope we'll all be together at the Glorious
Appearing. I want to be standing right next
to you when Jesus comes back."
  Charlie looked up. "You really think we'll
make it to then?"
  "I'm planning on it."
  Charlie helped carry Mark's things to one of the
abandoned cars parked in the woods, then said goodbye.
^
Lionel stared at the computer screen, trying
to figure out what he had found. An e-mail sent
from an aide to Kruno Fulcire to the GC
supreme commander updated the progress of the raids.
Much of it was straightforward, with statistics about the
number of prisoners and the execution schedule. But a
line at the bottom included numbers and letters that
looked like gibberish.
  Chang walked in and Lionel stood. "Glad
you're here. Take a look at this."
  Chang sat and studied the screen. "Good catch.
Have you talked to your friends in Avery?"
  "I e-mailed them and even made a call, but
I can't get through. I saw that GCNN was
predicting some kind of satellite interference for the
northern part of the States."
  Chang shook his head. "No way. They must be
jamming that area for some reason. When did you send your
email?"
  "About forty minutes ago," Lionel said as
Chang punched information into the computer.
  "Look at this," Chang said. "The GC
intercepted your message. It never got to your
friends."
"What? How could they--?" Chang clicked on the
e-mail from Kruno Fulcire's aide. He
pointed at the bottom of the screen. "See this?
It's code for the higherups. I think they've finally
broken into the Young Trib Force Web site."
"No," Lionel gasped.
  "That's not the worst news. Looks like the GC
has a location for your friends. If we don't alert
them, they're dead."





  TWO
  Closing In
  MARK shook hands with Marshall and hugged the others
who had returned to the main cabin. Tanya
Spivey thanked him for what he had done for her,
her brother, and the rest of the group from the cave. Conrad
patted Mark's back. Mark noticed Josey
Fogarty wiping a tear away. He hugged little
Ryan and patted his head, then moved outside.
  Shelly was waiting. "We haven't always seen
eye to eye on things," she said.
  "I've been hardheaded. I'm sorry for the stuff
I did that hurt you."
  Shelly nodded. "This reminds me a little of when you
went with the militia. Are you sure it's the right thing
to do?"
  Mark sighed. "I'm a militia of one now.
No, I'm not sure this is right, but I just can't stay
and wonder anymore." He glanced at
the people coming out of the cabin and
  leaned close to Shelly. "You've been a good
  friend to me and the others. I've been talking
  with Conrad. He's a great guy. Give him
  another chance."
  Shelly nodded and gave Mark a hug. Then
  he was off to the small car. The two-seater
  was perfect for him, fast enough to escape
  the GC in case he got in trouble but small
  enough to be able to hide in a pinch.
  Mark checked his phone again and dialed
  Lenore's number. Nothing. She hadn't
  answered his e-mail, but he couldn't wait. He
  had general directions to her area, so he
  would try to get as close as he could before
  sunup and make contact then. He put on his
  night-vision goggles and kept the
headlights
  off.
  He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw
  his friends waving. Mark wondered when he
  would see them again.
^
  Lionel hit the redial on his phone and got
  the same sound. Chang said the GC could
  jam certain cell or satellite phones, and it
  was possible they were moving in on the
  Wisconsin group.
  Judd and Vicki rushed inside the cavern
with worried looks. "Naomi told us what's
  going on," Vicki said. "Have you gotten
  through?"
  Lionel shook his head. "No phone, no
  Internet. And if the GC has control of the
  Web site, we can say good-bye to reaching
  out to people. They'll trash it as soon as they
  raid the hideout."
  Chang hurried over and handed Lionel a
  printout. "I intercepted this from the United
  North American States. It was sent to the
  supreme commander about ten minutes
  ago."
  Lionel scanned the paper. At the top
was a
  string of letters and numbers. In the middle
  of the page was the message:
  We continue to have great success
  rooting out rebels and would like to present
  the potentate with something spectacular
  today. We believe we have discovered a
  nest of Judah-ites hiding in rural
Wisconsin.
  They have gone virtually undetected
  the past few months. We have also been
  able to tap into their Web site. We hope
  to have these rebels in custody by morning
  and turn the Web site into a tool for our
  cause. We will have them singing "Hail
  Carpathia" before the morning is out.
Lionel slammed the paper on the table,
  picked up the phone, and dialed Wisconsin
  again. He still couldn't get through,
  "What are we going to do?" Vicki said. "We
  have to warn them!"
  "If I can reverse the jam on the phones we
  could call them," Chang said.
  "Do it," Judd said.
^
  Mark drove slowly down the narrow dirt
  road that led away from the campground.
  The road was little more than a path and had
  deep ruts from recent rains. The small car
  scraped bottom several times, and Mark was
  glad when he reached gravel.
  A few minutes later he was on a paved
  road. He checked his map and headed west,
  hoping to hit a north/south route a few miles
  farther. Mark settled in behind the wheel and
  adjusted his goggles. In this part of the country
  he usually saw dead animals along the
  road, but there were none. He did notice the
  barren countryside, burned-up trees, and
  scorched shrubs. Looking through the
  goggles, a stream running through the hills
  looked like a long, green scar.
  A light flickered on the horizon to Mark's
  right, and he slowed. It disappeared. Was that
my imagination? he thought. To make sure, he
  put the car in neutral and coasted to a stop.
  He watched for any movement on the horizon
  but saw nothing.
  As he pulled back onto the road, the light
  flickered again, and a line of vehicles
  rounded the hillside. He quickly gunned
the
  car toward the stream and looked for a place
  to hide. His tires spun in the soggy ground,
  but he managed to keep going until he
  reached some rocks.
  As the vehicles rumbled nearer, Mark got
  out and scampered toward the road. He was
  glad he had worn dark clothing, and he
  hunkered down behind a tree to watch the
  convoy.
  The line of Humvees stopped a hundred
  yards away. A sleek, black truck opened,
and
  several people got out. Definitely GC. But
  what were they doing here? Mark was too far
  away to hear, so he crept forward,
  duckwalking and trying to stay quiet. His
  goggles let him zoom in on the people,
  and Mark gasped when he recognized commander
  Kruno Fulcire.
  "... heat imaging showed they were in this
  area, but we need specifics," Fulcire said
into
  a radio.
  There was a pause, and then a man on the
radio broke in. "We'll have those for you in
  just a moment, Commander."
  Mark's heart raced. Specifics for what?
Had
  the GC finally discovered their hideout?
  He had to think quickly. There was no way
  he could start the car and race the GC back to
  his friends. They were sure to hear him and
  follow. Unless ...
  The radio crackled with a report from the
  satellite operator, and Mark returned to his
  car. He had driven several miles from the
  camp, but he guessed it was only a two-or
  three-mile trip through the forest.
  Mark grabbed the phone and dialed
  Marshall.
  Nothing.
  Mark looked around the car's interior. He
  had ammunition, enough to keep the GC
  busy for a few minutes, but his main job
  now was to warn his friends.
  He noticed the plastic gas can behind the
  passenger seat. Marshall had placed one in
  each of their vehicles in case they had to make
  a quick getaway and ran out of gas. Mark
  glanced at Fulcire and crew. He had to act
fast.
^
  Judd followed Vicki and Naomi through a
  maze of computers and workers. Since the
beginning of the setup in Petra, Naomi had
  grown in influence as a first-rate computer
  operator, then as a teacher. She was the
  daughter of one of the elders at Petra, Eleazar
  Tiberius. She not only had technical knowledge,
  but she also helped teach workers how
  to answer spiritual questions on Tsion's Web
  site, which was read by as many as a billion
  people every day. There were now thousands
  of computers and counselors spread out
  through the camp.
  "How did Dr. Ben-Judah hear about the
  situation?" Vicki asked, struggling to keep
  pace with Naomi.
  "I talked with my father, and he
  mentioned it to the rabbi," Naomi said. "He
  asked me to get you and move your meeting
  up from lunch."
  Tsion smiled and welcomed them to his
  tiny living room. "Please, sit. Is there
further
  news?"
  "Chang and Lionel are working on getting
  in touch with our friends," Judd said.
  "It's so hard when we're this far away and
  can't do anything," Vicki added.
  Tsion clenched his teeth. "We felt the same
  way with Chloe. I have a feeling we are going
  to be doing more mourning in the days to
  come. Oh--" He put up a hand--"I did not
mean that your friends will be harmed, but
  evil is rising. Antichrist and his followers are
  desperate."
  "We understand," Judd said. "It's just that
  we know angels warn people. Is there any
  reason why God couldn't do something like
  that now?"
  "God's ways are God's ways. I do not
presume
  to understand why he chooses to keep
  some from the blade while others are taken
  from us. I do not understand why he chose me
  to lead a million people here, but I am grateful
  he made me part of his plan. I do not think
  there is any harm in asking him to act -- in
fact,
  I think he wants us to. So let us pray now
that
  he will use some angel or human to save your
  friends and keep them safe."
^
  Mark rushed to the stream and up a hill to a
  grove of charred trees. Behind him the vehicles
  pulled out and continued. "Come on,"
  he whispered.
  He had reached a knoll when a terrific
  blast shattered the night. Flames shot into
  the air, then another explosion. Mark had
  stuffed a rag in the gasoline can, lit it, and
  placed it under his car's gas tank.
  The lead truck in the convoy stopped, and
several troops jumped out, weapons ready.
  An officer shouted something, and the last
  vehicle turned sideways on the road. Mark
  didn't wait to see what would happen. He
  scrambled over the knoll, got his bearings,
  and headed for the camp.
  He kept dialing the phone as he ran but
  couldn't get through. Depending on how long
  the GC remained occupied by the burning car,
  Mark had a chance of getting to his friends.
^
  Vicki felt better just hearing Tsion's
voice. His
  prayer showed a deep reverence for God, yet
  she could tell how much God was his friend.
  When Judd prayed, Vicki felt the emotion.
  There was something about talking with God
  together that touched her.
  When they had finished, Tsion asked about
  their home and how their marriage was going.
  Judd said they were getting along fine and
  asked if Tsion had any advice about what to
  do when they disagreed on certain issues.
  "I hope you do disagree," Dr. Ben-Judah
  said. "You have two different perspectives. But
  the beauty of a relationship built on God's
  love is that he has brought you together to
  make you one. This does not mean that you
  won't fight about certain things, but if you did
not have conflict, you would never have the
  opportunity to grow and learn and change.
  I suspect you will mature as believers more in
  these last six months than you have the last
  six years."
  "Did you have fights with your wife?" Vicki
  said.
  Tsion laughed. "We had pouting sessions
at
  first. I would get hurt and pout for a few days.
  Then she would get hurt and pout for a week.
  She was much better at pouting than I was, let
  me tell you. But as we grew together, and
  especially after we became believers in Jesus,
I
  saw our relationship change." He sat back and
  closed his eyes. "Oh, how I long to speak with
  her and ask her advice on things. But then I
  won't have to wait long for that, will I?"
  "You mean when Jesus comes back to set
  up his kingdom, right?" Vicki said.
  "Yes. I am confident that I will see my wife
  again and that we will have quite a reunion,
  along with my two children. How I long for
  those who have not yet believed in the
  message to do so. As you know, there are
  some who have come into Petra lately who
  are not believers, and I want them to hear, but
  I also want people outside to believe a new
  message God has been impressing on me."
  "Why don't you put it on the Web site?"
  Judd said.
Tsion nodded. "That is one idea I have
  considered, but I would like to reach even
  more people, those who haven't stumbled
  across my teaching on the Internet. I believe
  God has given me a message he wants
even
  Nicolae and his followers to hear."
  "Chang seems to be able to do a lot with
  the setup here," Vicki said. "Can't you break
  into international television?"
  Tsion scratched his chin. "Hmm. Chang is
  quite resourceful. I will need to talk with the
  elders and Captain Steele, but that is an
  excellent idea."
  Judd talked about the fact that he and
  Vicki almost felt guilty for being so happy
  when people were mourning.
  Tsion smiled. "Joy and sorrow go hand in
  hand. Do not feel guilty for the good gift
  God has given. Enjoy each other and praise
  God with your love."
  Judd brought up Vicki's idea about starting
  an orphanage after Christ's return. "In
one of
  your messages you mentioned there could be
  many children who go into the kingdom
  who don't have parents."
  "Yes, I believe that will be true," Tsion
  said.
  Vicki blushed when Judd elbowed her.
  "Well, I was watching a news report about
the Junior GC program the other day. There
  are so many young kids who've been brainwashed
  by Carpathia. They will need a lot of
  help, and I was thinking we could--Judd and
  I--find a place where we could take some
  kids in and care for them."
  "The need will be so great," Tsion said. "I
  am thankful you are thinking ahead to such
  a time. The truth is, these children will probably
  have about a hundred years to decide."
  "A hundred years?" Vicki said.
  "Ask Naomi to print out the section of my
  teaching that deals with this. I think you will
  find it quite helpful."
  Before they left, Tsion led them again in
  prayer for their friends. Vicki thought of little
  Ryan and the others in Wisconsin and prayed
  that they would be kept safe.



THREE
  Mark's Run
  MARK ran through the forest and realized he
  didn't recognize anything. He heard the
faint
  crackling of fire behind him and guessed the
  convoy was still inspecting the explosion.
  Mark needed to find something familiar--
  like the road. If he didn't, the GC could
  locate his friends before he did.
  Mark turned to his right. The goggles
  bounced on his face as he jogged, so he took
  them off. Without them, he could barely see.
  He finally put them back on and slowed,
  making sure he didn't trip over dead
  branches or dips in the ground.
  A thousand thoughts flashed through his
  mind. His friends had no idea of the danger.
  He imagined the GC breaking into each
  cabin and hauling people out. Charlie would
  be so scared. Mark knew Tom Fogarty kept
a
  gun in his cabin, but what good would it do?
  Mark picked up his pace, the night-vision
  goggles bouncing crazily. It had been a long
  time since the group had even thought about
  a GC raid. When they had first arrived,
  Marshall had conducted surprise drills, but
  that had been so long ago Mark doubted
  anyone would remember what to do.
  His legs ached from the pounding. He
  wanted to stop and rest but knew he had to
  keep going, keep moving toward his friends.
  He was their only chance of survival.
  If he stopped, they died. Simple as that.
  Mark felt a rage that pushed him on. He
  hated Nicolae Carpathia and everything the
  Global Community stood for. The man had
  brought such death and destruction to the
  world, and people still followed him. Mark
  recalled a different version of "Hail
  Carpathia" that Judd had sung:
  Hey, Carpathia, you're not the risen king;
  Hey, Carpathia, you don't rule anything.
  We'll worship God until we die
  And fight against you, Nicolae.
  Hey, Carpathia, you're not the risen king.
  Mark chanted the words softly as he ran,
  moving his feet to the words. He had never
  been much of a singer, and his cousin John
  had made fun of him in church once.
Mark
smiled at the memory. John had been killed at
  sea by a giant wave, and Mark had never really
  gotten over John's death. Sure, he had
gone
  on with his life and tried to help others come
  to know God, but John was always in the back
  of his mind. What would have happened if he
  had stayed with the group, instead of heading
  east and getting drafted by the GC?
  There were so many what-ifs in Mark's
  world. The biggest was what would have happened
  if he had believed the message before the
  Rapture. He wouldn't have seen all the
destruction,
  plagues, and deaths of friends.
  His heart beat wildly and he gasped for air.
  He searched his mind for some verse of
  Scripture or words from a song to keep him
  going, but nothing came.
  "God, I don't know why this is happening,
  and maybe you wanted me to go out tonight
  because you knew the GC were coming,"
  Mark prayed. "But whatever the reason, you
  put me here. Now help me reach my
friends
  before it's too late."
^
  Lionel clicked on the computer's world-time
  function and saw it was 3 A.m. in
Wisconsin.
  If the GC carried out their plans, they would
  catch his friends in the middle of a Bible
study, trying to get the Web site running
  again, or worse, sleeping.
  Lionel had never seen anyone work as
  hard as Chang at trying to override systems,
  but finally Chang threw up his hands. "I'm
  sorry, Lionel."
  A report from Commander Fulcire had
  sparked a bit of hope. "Explosion nearby--
  may be an attack," the report said. But a
few
  minutes later another report dashed
Lionel's
  hopes. "False alarm. Explosion linked to
  dead Judah-ite's car. Someone may know
  we're coming, which means we're on the
  right track. Proceeding to target."
  "It's in God's hands now," Chang said.
  Lionel shook his head. "I wish there was
  something more we could do."
  Chang put a hand on Lionel's shoulder.
  "When I was in New Babylon, many times I
  felt like there was nothing I could do. But I
  realized the greatest thing any of us can do is
  pray and ask God to work out his will. You
  see, God really is for us. He wants to help
us
  through difficulties. I used to think he
  should just take us out of them or solve them
  for us. But sometimes I think he shows
  himself greater by walking through our troubles
  with us. So let's invite him to have his
  perfect way in your friends' lives and in our
  lives too."
Lionel nodded, then bowed his head. He
  prayed first for Mark.
^
  A verse finally came to Mark, but it wasn't
  the one he wanted to think of. "The greatest
  love is shown when people lay down their lives for
  their friends."
  Mark didn't want to lay down his life,
  though he had seen that done many times in
  the past six years. He thought of Natalie
  Bishop who had worked for the GC, Pete
  Davidson who had led the GC away from the
  kids, and Chloe Williams.
  Mark had watched Chloe's execution with
  a mix of fascination and horror. The appearance
  of the angel at the event had raised
  many questions. Had he spoken with Chloe?
  Was that where she got the strength to be so
  bold at the end? And why didn't the angel
  rescue Chloe and the other believers who
  were executed?
  Mark's right leg stuck in a hole, and he felt
  a sharp pain behind his knee. He stumbled
  forward, then fell back, grabbing his leg and
  screaming. He pulled his foot from the hole
  and rolled to his left side, holding his leg and
  rocking.
  When he tried to stand he fell. He couldn't
imagine taking another step, let alone
  running the rest of the way.
  Something rumbled and the convoy
  approached. Mark lifted his head and realized
  he was sitting next to the dirt road leading
  to the cabins. The ground vibrated as the
  first Humvee approached, and Mark held his
  breath. "Keep going," he whispered,
putting
  his head back and closing his eyes.
  Mark expected to hear brakes squeal, but
  the vehicles roared past. They missed the
  entrance! Mark thought. Maybe they're not
  after us.
  When the last Humvee passed, Mark struggled
  to stand. He managed to put his weight
  on his left leg, but his right felt like a knife
  was sticking through it. He hopped up to the
  road and nearly passed out from the pain.
  With short steps and hops he started
  toward the cabins, finding that putting his
  hand behind his right knee helped. He took
  off his belt and buckled it around his leg. The
  pressure seemed to work.
  He kept going as quickly as possible. When
  he reached the trees surrounding the cabins,
  he left the dirt road and yelled for his friends.
  Mark heard a noise to his right--something
  running. He set the night-vision
  goggles to macro and saw two eyes rushing
  for him.
Then he heard it. The most wonderful
  sound in the world!
  Phoenix's bark!
  "Come here, boy," Mark said, sitting on
  the ground and gathering the dog in. "Go on
  back now and make some noise."
  He patted Phoenix's back and sent the
  barking dog away. Mark limped farther and
  saw a light in the distance from the main
  cabin. The door opened and someone called
  Phoenix.
  "Help! "Mark hollered.
  "Mark?" It was Marshall. "What are you
  doing?"
  "Please, we don't have much time! Come
  get me."
  Marshall and Conrad carried him to the
  main cabin.
  "GC, they passed me on the road. They're
  coming here."
  "How do you know?" Conrad said.
  "I don't have time to convince you. Just get
  everybody out of here."
  Conrad nodded and hurried outside.
  Marshall sat Mark on a chair and inspected
  his leg. "You might have torn some ligaments.
  We're going to need to look at it--"
  "We can look at it later," Mark said. "Do
  we have enough vehicles?"
"We should. What happened to the car
  you took?"
  Mark told him.
  Marshall scratched his chin. "We have the
  15-passenger, another minivan, and some
  smaller--"
  "Get them ready," Mark said.
  Tom Fogarty rushed inside. "I have Josey
  and Ryan in the van. Everybody else is
gathering."
  Marshall handed him the keys. "Start it up
  while I help Mark to the--"
  "No," Mark interrupted. "I'm going alone."
  "That's crazy!" Marshall said.
  "Go! I'm going to torch this place."
  "What if it's a false alarm?" Tom said.
  "It's not," Mark said. "It might already be
  too late. Now if you value your wife and
son,
  go."
  Tom rushed outside.
  "When you get to the main road, go west,"
  Mark said. "And keep your lights off.
I'll
  follow as soon as I'm finished."
  Marshall hesitated and Mark pushed him
  toward the door. "Call Petra, Once you
get
  far enough away from here, a cell might
  open up. Chang might be able to block the
  satellites they're using to find us."
  "We'll head for Lenore's place," Marshall
  said. "We'll meet you there." He gave Mark
keys to a different car and hurried into the
  night.
  Mark watched Charlie turn and wave. Janie
  and Shelly smiled at him.
  When they finally pulled out, Mark
  grabbed lighter fluid and poured it on their
  computers. Anything that might lead the GC
  to someone inside the Tribulation Force or
  Young Tribulation Force had to be destroyed.
  He lit a match in the main cabin, took a
deep
  breath, and threw it on the fluid. With a loud
  whomp, the fire began.
  Mark hopped to the next cabin, tossing
  lighter fluid and a lit match inside.
He knew
  this would attract the GC, but it had to be
  done.
  Each step was painful, but Mark managed
  to make it to the end of the row of cabins,
  lighting fires and getting away. He hobbled
  back past the main cabin as the fire whistled
  and cracked. Mark found his car, a diesel,
  and it chugged to life. He pulled out, the fire
  lighting up the forest behind him. He pulled
  onto the path and gunned the engine.
  He came to a stop at the main road
  pounded his fist on the steering wheel
  "Take that, Fulcire!" he whooped.
  Mark turned the wheel to the right and started to pull out but
stopped. He couldn't
leave now. The GC would come back and see
  the fire, then go after his friends. Maybe there
  was something more he could do.
  He turned around and headed back into
  the trees. He would figure out some way to
  delay the GC. Anything for his friends.



  FOUR
  Commander Fulcire
  LIONEL prayed for those in Wisconsin
as
  Chang clicked his way through the Global
  Community network.
  When Chang got through to GC satellite
  operations, he gasped. "They've got images of
  the hideout in Wisconsin!"
  The screen showed a wide shot and a glow
  coming from the ground. Chang zoomed
  closer. "There's a fire."
  Lionel's heart sank. "We're too
late."
  "Maybe not. I know the GC likes to burn
  people out, but if they knew this was Young
  Tribulation Force headquarters, they
  wouldn't have burned it before they got all
  the evidence." Chang clicked on another
  computer and turned. "The latest message
from Fulcire is a request for location, not a
  report that they've caught the rebels."
Lionel glanced at the satellite image. "So
  you're saying our people might have figured
  it out and torched the place?"
  "It's possible," Chang said. "And if so,
  they're on the run. Which means we need to
  lock this thing up so the GC can't track
them."
  "You can do that?"
  Chang smiled. "We can do lots of things."
  His fingers flashed over the keyboard like
  lightning as he went deep inside the satellite
  operation. "They won't even know what hit
  them."
  Five minutes later, Chang clicked his
  mouse a final time and sat back. "Want to
  know what they're seeing right now?"
  Lionel nodded.
  Chang clicked on the satellite image and
  crossed his arms. A huge, yellow smiley
face
  appeared. Underneath was written, Temporarily
  out of service. Thanks for your patience.
  "Awesome," Lionel said.
  "Now let's listen in on the satellite control
  room," Chang said. He clicked a few more
  keys and brought up audio of people shouting
  and cursing.
  A female worker tried to figure out what
  had gone wrong. "I don't understand it, sir.
  One minute I had a bead on these rebels,
  and then the image was gone."
"Sir, Commander Fulcire is calling!" someone
  yelled.
  The man cleared his throat and punched
  the speakerphone.
  "This is great," Lionel said.
  "Commander, we're having some technical
  difficulties, but my technician said she's
tracking
  your convoy and you've gone past the
  location. It should be easy for you to locate
  now. There's a fully engaged fire there."
  "We're heading back that way and can see
  the flames. Can you give me exact
coordinates?"
  The man replied with a list of numbers
  Lionel didn't understand. "But with this fire,
  there's a chance the rebels are on the run."
  "Do a heat imaging of the area to see if you
  can locate any vehicles or people getting
  away."
  "We can't, sir. As I said, we're having some
  technical difficulties."
  "Do you know how long we've been working
  on this?" Fulcire shouted. "Don't give me
  technical difficulties. I want
answers or heads
  are going to roll!"
  "Yes, sir, we're working on it, sir," the
man
  said. He hollered at the others, trying to
  motivate them to fix the problem. Everyone
  seemed angry at the yellow smiley face.
Chang clicked the keyboard again and
  smiled. "I can't wait to hear what they'll say
  when they see this."
  The smiley face changed to a frowning
  face. Underneath it were the words, We're so
  sorry you're having trouble. Keep a positive
attitude and maybe you won't lose your heads.
  Lionel thanked God for David Hassid,
who had originally designed this computer center.
  While Chang worked his magic, trying to
  keep his friends safe, others answered questions
  from believers and nonbelievers
  around the world. It was estimated that a
  billion people every day got information
  from Tsion Ben-Judah's Web site, and the
  many mentors around Chang and Lionel
  were hard at work with Tsion's cyberaudience
  twenty-four hours a day.
  "Let's just hope this buys our people
  enough time to get out of there," Chang said.
^
  Mark parked the car behind some trees away
  from the cabins and stumbled to a hiding
  place. His knee throbbed. The lower part of
  his leg tingled since the belt had cut off his
  blood circulation. He sat on the ground, his
  back to a tree, and tried to stretch his leg, but
  it only brought more pain.
The fire and smoke glowed against the
  black sky. Ashes rose overhead, and trees
  near the cabins caught fire. Branches and
  needles crackled.
  Mark heard a rumbling and noticed the
  convoy on the main road. Instead of taking
  the dirt road, which Mark was sure they
  couldn't see, the convoy went down an
  embankment and cut across an open field.
  They finally found the dirt road and drove
  through the trees to within fifty yards of the
  burning cabins.
  Mark crawled closer to the vehicles while
  GC officers jumped out to inspect the
cabins.
  The lead vehicle, a smaller black truck,
  parked closest to the main cabin, and a tall
  man got out, cursing.
  Fulcire, Mark thought.
  "Check every cabin and the perimeter
  behind them," Fulcire shouted. "I want these
  rebels now!"
  As the officers ran, Mark got an idea.
  Everyone was so intent on following orders
  that no one paid attention to the vehicles.
  He pulled himself up and staggered to the
  last Humvee. After making sure no one was
  inside, he quietly opened the driver's door.
  His heart beat like a freight train when a light
  went on and a ding, ding, ding sounded. He
quickly found a button on the doorframe
  and pressed it, turning off the light and the
  sound.
  Mark grabbed the keys dangling from the
  ignition, pulled them out, and stuck them in
  his pants pocket. One down, he thought.
^
  Vicki sat on the bed reading the printout
  Naomi had given her, fascinated with the
  words of Dr. Ben-Judah. This section
dealt
  with the one thousand year millennial kingdom
  of Jesus. She giggled.
  Judd turned from his computer. "What's so
  funny?"
  "I was just thinking about my life before
  the Rapture. I would never have dreamed I
  would be so excited about reading stuff
  about the Bible."
  "All we've been through has a way of
  changing your mind about a lot of things," Judd
said. "What's in there?"
  "Tons. For example, Tsion believes that in
  the one thousand year kingdom, God's going
  to lift the effects of original sin."
  "How?"
  "Well, he says it's going to be a lot like the
  Garden of Eden. All the people who rebelled
against God and the bad angels will be
  gone."
  "And not on vacation." Judd smirked.
  Vicki continued, "God's going to bind
  Satan so he can't tempt people, and Christ--
  with the help of angels and believers--will
  basically enforce God's laws.
Everybody will
  have their own home. There won't be war--"
  "That verse about turning swords into farm
  plows or something..."
  "Yeah, Tsion includes that here. It's from
  Isaiah 2. The Lord will settle international
  disputes. All the nations will beat their
  swords into plowshares and their spears into
  pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military
  training will come to an end.""
  "I can't imagine a world without war, can
  you?"
  "We won't have to imagine it. It'll be reality
  soon."
  "What else does he say?"
  Vicki turned a page. "Here it is. According
  to Isaiah 65, Tsion says people will live as
  long as those before the days of Noah. That
  means a believer who is born near the beginning
  of the kingdom could live almost a
  thousand years."
  "No way."
  "Another verse says a person will still
be considered young at the age of one hundred."
  "Sounds ideal."
  "Just think about it," Vicki said, putting the
  pages down. "No more drug addicts. No
  more thieves and murderers. The stuff on TV
  won't be so violent. Everybody's going to
  know about God because Jesus will be the
  true King."
  "I still can't get my mind around it," Judd
  said.
  "The people who enter into the kingdom in
  their natural bodies, hopefully like you and
  me, will still be able to die. There's just so
  much to learn about -- and think, we only have
  a few months until the whole thing starts."
  "The best thing is, we're going to get to see
  our friends and family. You'll finally get to
  meet my mom and dad -- and my little
  brother and sister."
  "I can't wait," Vicki said.
^
  Mark moved to the next Humvee, but this
  time he threw the keys as far as he could into
  the trees. As he crept toward the next
vehicle,
  someone approached from the other side
  and Mark hit the dirt, the pain in his leg
  almost making him cry out.
"We're searching now, but my guess is
  they're not here." There was no question that
  this was Fulcire. "What's our intel on their
  movement?" After a pause, Fulcire cursed and
  yelled, "Can't you people do anything right!?"
  Mark breathed a sigh of relief when the
  man walked toward the main cabin. The
  front window was open in the next Humvee
  so he quickly reached inside, snatched the
  keys, and tossed them into the woods. This
  time they pinged off a tree.
  Fulcire turned. "People! People! I heard
  something in the woods to the east. Everybody
  over there--now!!!"
  Mark stayed low to the ground, watching
  officers move away from the burning cabins.
  Perfect, he thought. One more set of keys and
  I'm outta here.
  Mark sneaked to the lead vehicle and pulled
  himself alongside the driver's window. The
  tinted glass kept him from seeing inside. He
  carefully opened the door, and an alarm
  pierced the night.
  "Somebody's messing with the vehicles!"
  a man shouted.
  Mark reached for the keys, but they weren't
  in the ignition. He pulled the handgun from
  his pocket and shot out the left front and rear
  tires as he limped toward the last Humvee.
He pulled the keys from his pocket, opened
  the door, and struggled into the driver's seat.
  The Humvee roared to life while officers
  streamed from the woods.
  Mark slammed the gearshift in reverse and  backed away as the first volley of gunfire hit
  the Humvee. Bulletproof glass, Mark
thought.
  Lucky me. In spite of the pain in his leg, he
  jammed his foot on the accelerator and rocketed
  down the dirt road, bullets clinking off
  metal, dust and rocks thrown in the air. In
  his side mirror he saw flashes of fire from the
  soldiers' weapons.
  Mark focused on the road and turned on 
  his lights. As he neared the main road, he
  glanced back and saw the frantic officers
  trying to find their keys. He smiled, knowing
  he was free.
  But he wasn't.
  As soon as he turned onto the main
road,
  a bus careened in front of him, cutting him
  off. Mark jerked the wheel to the right,
  plunging into a ditch. The Humvee shook
  and rattled. A sharp pain shot through his
  right leg, and Mark nearly lost control. As the
  Humvee jumped out of the ditch, the driver
  of the bus swerved. Another ditch, this one
  deeper than the last, loomed in front of him.
  Mark struggled to keep the vehicle on the
  road, dodging to his left and hitting the bus,
then lurching down the hill into dead trees.
  He slammed on his brakes with his left foot
  and watched the bus zip past. Peacekeepers
  ran forward, shooting at his tires.
  Mark whipped the Humvee around and
  headed east. He was going sixty miles per
  hour when a Peacekeeper with a rifle opened
  fire, exploding a front tire. He lost
control
  and veered left as a back tire shredded.
  The Humvee, tires smoking now, ran off
  the road and slammed into a burned tree,
  knocking it down and sending Mark into the
  windshield.
  Dazed, Mark shook his head and tried to
  see how badly he was hurt. He felt his
forehead
  and pulled back a handful of blood. He
  felt like someone had hit him in the face
  with a baseball bat.
  Gotta get out of here, he thought, reaching
  for the door handle.
  The door opened by itself, or so it seemed.
  Mark swung his legs around and leaned into
  the barrels of several Global Community
  guns.
  "We have him, Commander," one said
  into a radio. The man grabbed Mark's gun
  and threw it away. Then he twisted Mark's
  hands behind him and cuffed them.
  Mark went limp and collapsed.



  FIVE
  In the Trap
  MARK awoke in the back of the bus, handcuffed
  and aching. His right leg felt like it
  was hanging on by a thread. His belt was still
  buckled tightly around his knee. His eyes
  stung, and he realized blood had trickled
  down his forehead while he was
unconscious.
  He leaned forward to the seat in front
  of him and rubbed his eyes for relief.
  The Peacekeepers weren't happy. They had
  expected to fill the bus with rebels. A
Humvee
  followed, and Mark figured Commander
  Fulcire was in it.
  Mark sat back and tried to get comfortable.
  His shoulders throbbed, and his hands had
  fallen asleep. He tried to pray and remembered
  a verse Marshall Jameson had talked
  about during one of their meetings--the one
  about the Holy Spirit praying for believers
with groans that can't be expressed. At the
  time Mark hadn't understood the concept, but
  now he was living it. Though he couldn't form
  the words, God knew what was going on.
  Mark had often thought about what he
  would do if he ever got caught by the GC. If
  he kept his mouth shut, he couldn't go
  wrong. The moment he talked, they would
  offer things--food, water, or sleep. But Mark
  was desperate to know if his friends had truly
  made it to safety. If he knew that,
he could
  keep going as long as it took.
  Mark knew of others who had been
  captured. Chloe Williams had no doubt
been
  questioned by the GC, and while news
  reports said she had given lots of information,
  no one believed it. He shuddered at the
  thought of facing the guillotine. If he was
  going to die as bravely as Chloe, he knew he
  would have to have God's help.
  I'm not going to die, Mark thought. My
  friends are going to find me and get me out of
  here. Period.
  A Peacekeeper glanced at Mark. The soldier
  looked a couple of years older than him, and
  Mark wondered if he had heard that within
  six months Jesus would return to crush the
  Global Community. He's coming back soon,
  Mark thought. Sooner than you think.
  The soldier sneered and keyed a
phone attached to his uniform. "He's awake,
  sir."
  "Condition?" It sounded like Commander
  Fulcire.
  "Looks a little dazed," the soldier said.
  "Still breathing."
  "Give him some water. Nothing else."
  The soldier unscrewed the cap from a
  bottle of water and held it out. Mark opened
  his mouth, and the man poured a few drops
  in. Then he poured so fast that Mark choked,
  coughing and sputtering.
  The soldier laughed. "Get enough,
Judah-ite?"
  Mark caught his breath.
  The soldier sat across the aisle and leaned
  close. "You ready for what they're going to
  do to you? No mark, no head. But since you
  caused trouble back there, I think they're
  going to make it even more painful for you.
  Mark wondered how the GC had found
  out about their hideout. Had they tapped
  into their phones? Or infiltrated the Web
  site? Had someone tipped them off?
  I guess it doesn't matter now, he thought.
  Mark didn't want to talk, but he had to
  know about his friends. "Seems like a lot of
  People for just one guy." His throat felt
  scratchy and raw.
The soldier smiled. "No way you were
  working alone. We've got the others in
  custody. They'll face the same fate as you."
  He leaned closer and whispered, "They say
  the blade sticks sometimes. It can cut you a
  few inches, and they have to raise it back up
  and let it go again. If you talk, they give you a
  clean one that gets it over quick."
  Mark thought about Jesus -- how he had
  endured mocking and torture. Before the
  soldier could say anything else, Mark
  slumped against the seat and fell asleep.
^
  While Vicki read more of Tsion Ben-Judah's
  printout, Judd jogged to the tech center for
  an update. He spotted Rayford Steele,
  Chloe's father, and watched him walk toward
  the meeting place. Over the past few months,
  Rayford had reorganized the Tribulation
  Force. Mr. Whalum, who had flown Lionel
  and Judd to South Carolina, had taken over
  the Co-op and helped plan the movement of
  supplies throughout the world.
  Rayford had agreed with a daring plan by
  Chang to bug an upcoming meeting in Baghdad,
  where Nicolae's ten kings were
  supposed to appear. Judd had asked Chang if
  he and Vicki could be part of the tech crew,
but Judd knew Rayford would have the final
  say. Judd didn't know much about the plan,
  just that Chang hoped to use hidden cameras
  and microphones. There was even talk of
  Zeke making special disguises for everyone.
  As Judd entered the tech center, Lionel
  waved frantically.
  Judd rushed over and found Chang watching
  satellite video of a fire. Lionel
explained
  that it was the Wisconsin hideout, and Judd
  gulped.
  "Darrion just got through on the phone
  and is going to call us back any minute,"
  Lionel said.
  "Did they all get out?" Judd said.
  Lionel shrugged. "Let's hope so."
  Chang went to the kids' Web site and
  explained how the GC was able to break in
  and discover where the Young Trib Force was
  headquartered. Judd felt sick when he saw
  Nicolae Carpathia's picture on their Web
site.
  The GC had not only removed any reference
  to Jesus, the Bible, and Tsion Ben-Judah, they
  had already posted several articles about the
  great Nicolae.
  If you've been to this Web site before, you'll
  notice a number of changes, one post read.
We
  have to admit we were wrong about the Global
  Community and especially Potentate Carpathia.
If you haven't taken the mark offered by the GC,
  do it now. It's painless and it'll help them keep
  order and peace. After all, that's what we all
  want.
  The article was signed Vicki B.
  "We worked so hard on that," Judd said.
  "All that data, all the articles . . .
everything's
  gone?"
  Chang frowned. "Unless you have originals,
  I'm afraid so."
  The phone rang and Chang put the call on
  speakerphone. It was Darrion.
  "Where are you guys?" Lionel said.
  "Illinois. We finally got the cell phone
  working just across the Illinois border and
  got in touch with Lenore. She and the others
  in her group had to move, and we're heading
  there tonight."
  "What's your location now?" Chang said.
  "We found an old farmhouse that wasn't
  destroyed in the fire," Darrion said. "As long
  as the GC doesn't use their satellite stuff
to
  find us, we're okay."
  "I've taken care of that," Chang said.
  "Did everyone get out?" Lionel said.
  "Everybody but Mark. He stayed and we
  haven't heard from him."
  Judd bit his lip. "How did you guys find
  out the GC were coming?"
  "Mark limped into camp telling us we had
to get out. Marshall thinks he ran into the
  GC along the road."
  "Where was he going?" Lionel said.
  "There was a big fight and Mark decided to
  leave," Darrion said. "Everybody was upset
  with him, but I guess if he hadn't left, the
GC
  might have found us."
  Lionel asked about Charlie and several
  other members of the group. Darrion told
  them they had escaped with Phoenix, but all
  of their supplies, computer equipment, and
  clothes were still in the cabins.
  "The cabins don't exist," Judd said. He
told
  her about the fire.
  "You guys settle in and stay safe," Chang
  said. "I'll jam their satellite until you
make it
  to Lenore's."
^
  Mark noticed the sun rising to his left. They
  were heading south toward Chicago. Maybe
  they were taking him to the new GC headquarters
  he had heard about. Or a prison
  where they televised executions.
  Mark tried to put the thought out of his
  mind. He had memorized a lot of
Scripture,
  so why couldn't he remember anything now?
  As he sat in the rumbling bus, emotion
  overtook him. Tears dripped from his nose
onto the seat. He tried holding them back,
  but that only made things worse. Sobs racked
  his chest, and he thought he would die.
  "Please, God," he prayed, "give me the
  strength to go through whatever is going to
  happen. I know I won't be able to make it
  without you."
^
  Vicki's heart raced when Judd told her
what had happened to their friends and that the
  cabins had burned. The news about Mark
  sent a wave of panic through her.
  They rushed to the tech center, where
  Chang was at a computer on the other side of
  the room working on jamming the satellite.
  Lionel was at another computer in the back
  and waved at them.
  "Just got into the GC'S database," Lionel
  said. Vicki was amazed at how fast Lionel
  could type one-handed, his fingers rushing
  back and forth among the keys. "Chang
  showed me how to see anything Fulcire
  sends to his superiors. We can't hear phone
  conversations, but we'll see any written info."
  He clicked on a previous message and something
  beeped. "New message."
  This confirms phone conversation that there
  will be a press briefing this afternoon,
Fulcire
wrote. We'll go over the raid in Minnesota and
  the capture of this new rebel. We do not have a
  name yet, but I assure you we will by the time of
  the briefing. Though he's young, we think we've
  caught one of the big fish in this so-called Young
  Tribulation Force.
  Vicki put a hand to her mouth and whispered,
  "Mark."
  "I wish we could send out a message to
  have people pray," Judd said.
  "We could do it on Tsion's Web site,"
  Lionel said.
  "Can you make that happen?" Judd said.
  "Just tell me what you want it to say, and
  I'll have Chang post it."
  Vicki gagged when she saw the kids' Web
  site. She thought of all the articles the kids
  had carefully created. Mark had rewritten
  most of Tsion Ben-Judah's messages
especially
  for young readers. Now it was all gone.
  Vicki, Judd, and Lionel spent a few
  minutes praying for Mark and asking God to
  protect him. "Let Mark know that you
love
  him and that you're there for him," Vicki
  prayed.



SIX
  The Visitor
  MARK scooted close to the side of the bus and
  propped his head against the wall. The
  emotion had passed, and now he just felt
  tired and sore. The cuffs cut into his wrists,
  and he wished the Peacekeeper would loosen
  them.
  Mark tried to think of something to take
  his mind off the pain. His first thought was
  Vicki, and he smiled. She had looked so
  pretty on the video feed from Petra.
Beautiful.
  He had known early that Vicki was
  attracted to Judd. Mark's own feelings
hadn't
  stirred until much later. He loved the sound
  of her voice, the way she took chances to
  help people. There was something fearless
  about her, something pure and noble.
  "You gotta forgive me, Vicki," Mark
whispered.
  He felt bad about yelling at her at the
Dials' hideout in Wisconsin. He had told
her
  she had to leave or he would, but the truth
  was, deep down, Mark was simply confused
  about his feelings. Now he knew he felt jealous
  of Judd and had lashed out at her in
  anger.
  Later, when he and Vicki had talked, he
  had almost told her how he felt. Almost let
  her know that he wanted to be more than
  friends. Mark took a deep breath and tried to
  hold back the tears. It was okay that she
  didn't know, almost better.
  The bus rumbled on as the sun rose
  higher. Peacekeepers slumped in their seats,
  trying to catch a few minutes of sleep. A
man
  Mark hadn't seen before walked down the
  aisle. He wasn't wearing a GC uniform.
The
  bus driver stared straight ahead, not noticing
  the man.
  As the man neared, Mark looked closer at
  his long robe that reached the floor. He
  passed the Peacekeeper in the seat next to
  Mark, stopped, and looked directly into
  Mark's eyes.
  "Who are you?" Mark croaked.
  The man's eyes seemed full of compassion,
  as if at any moment he would weep. He gave
  a slight smile. "A messenger."
  "Okay." Mark hesitated. "So what's the
  message?"
The man gathered his robe and sat. "Lean
  forward," he said. The pressure on Mark's
  shoulders suddenly relaxed. The handcuffs
  fell, and the man placed them on the seat.
  Mark rubbed his wrists and put his head
  back. His neck muscles, which had been so
  tense, loosened. The feeling was heavenly. "I
  think I could sleep for a hundred years. How
  did you do that?"
  The man smiled. "It's not important for
  you to know the how, just the why."
  "All right, why?"
  "Your heavenly Father knows your needs.
  He has heard the cry of your heart and has
  sent me."
  Mark sat up. "Is this a rescue?
Are you
  taking me out of here and past all these
  Peacekeepers?"
  The man looked at the floor. "This is the
  message I was sent to give you. "When you go
  through deep waters and great trouble, I will
  be with you. When you go through rivers of
  difficulty, you will not drown! When you
  walk through the fire of oppression, you will
  not be burned up; the flames will not
  consume you.""
  "Who are you talking to?" the bus driver
  said, looking in his mirror.
The man nudged Mark. "Don't worry. He
  can't see me. At least, not yet."
  Mark ignored the driver and lowered his
  voice. "What does that verse mean? That
  you're not going to get me out of here?"
  "The Father has not promised to snatch
  you away from trouble. But he has promised
  to be with you every step. You have served
  him well, Mark. You will serve him yet."
  Mark moved his leg and noticed he had feeling
  below the knee. He quickly untied the belt
  and removed it. No pain. "Did you do
that?"
  The man put an arm around Mark's shoulder.
  "In Proverbs it says, "An unreliable
  messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable
  messenger brings healing.""
  Mark flexed his leg. The torn ligaments were
  healed and without surgery--at least normal
  surgery. It was all he could do to sit still. "What
  do you mean, I'll serve him? I don't even
know
  where these guys are taking me. How am I
  going to serve God from some GC jail?"
  The angel--for Mark knew this was what
  he was--closed his eyes and spoke. It was
  like a whisper to Mark's heart. ""Have you
  never heard or understood? Don't you know
  that the Lord is the everlasting God, the
  Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint
  or weary. No one can measure the depths of
  his understanding. He gives power to those
who are tired and worn out; he offers
  strength to the weak. Even youths will
  become exhausted, and young men will give
  up. But those who wait on the Lord will find
  new strength. They will fly high on wings
like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.
  They will walk and not faint.""
  Mark was overwhelmed by the words and
  felt a sense of hope. "I have to know if my
  friends are okay. Can you tell me?"
  The angel stood. "Your actions and the
  actions of friends far away enabled them to
  escape. They are safe."
  "Thank you."
  The man turned. He was only inches away
  from a Peacekeeper, but the GC soldier kept
  sleeping.
  Mark wondered if the angel had caused the
  others to sleep. "Do you have to go?" "We will see
each other again before the
  end." He leaned toward Mark and with a
  twinkle in his eye said, ""The Lord is my
  strength, my shield from every danger. I trust
  in him with all my heart. He helps me, and
  my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in
  songs of thanksgiving.""
  The angel turned and walked toward the
  bus driver. Mark pulled himself up for one
  more glimpse, but the angel was gone.
The bus driver slammed on his brakes and
  shouted, "Hey, take care of your prisoner!
  He's gotten his handcuffs off!"
  "How did you get out of those?" a Peacekeeper
  said, pouncing on Mark.
  Mark just smiled and held out his hands.
  He remembered Vicki's favorite chorus that
  the group had sung at the first hideout in
  Wisconsin and began singing.
  Laughing, crying, and singing to God.
  It was a song of joy and thanksgiving.
^
  Lionel watched news reports from the United
  North American States alone. Using codes
  Chang had given him, he was able to tap into
  a live feed from an unnamed prison.
  The female reporter began with footage of
  the night before when a camera crew had
  caught the action in Minnesota. As far as
  Lionel could tell, these were militia members
  and not believers, though the reporter
  labeled them "suspected Judahites."
  "Another raid early this morning brought
  the arrest of a high-level member of what
  the Global Community called a rebel
  youth movement responsible for many
  deaths and destruction of Global Community
  property."
"We're looking forward to interrogating
  our prisoner," Commander Fulcire said with
  a wink.
  "Why aren't you going to execute him for
  not taking the mark?" the reporter said.
  "Normally we would, but we believe this
  prisoner has valuable information. What we
  have here is a troubled young man who has
  been brainwashed to believe our lord
  Carpathia is evil. I'm not making excuses
for
  his crimes, but if we can go inside his head
  and get information about other members of
  this dangerous group, we'll be that much
  closer to the kind of world peace we've been
  striving for the last few years."
  The camera cut to a shot of Mark being led
  off a bus, handcuffed and shackled at the
  ankles. He saw the camera and started to say
  something, but the Peacekeeper behind him
  hit him on the head with the butt of his rifle
  and Mark fell.
  Lionel closed his eyes and gritted his
  teeth. The reporter parroted the GC'S lies.
If
  they knew the truth about Mark and the others
  in the Young Trib Force ... He shook his
  head. No, if they knew the truth, they'd still
  report lies because they're under the control of
  the biggest liar of them all.
  The woman concluded her report and
threw it back to the anchor at the Global
  Community News Network. Lionel kept
  watching the live feed, wondering if she
  would say anything once she was off the air.
  "How did that come off?" the woman said.
  "Did you get a shot of the guy yelling about
  Jesus?"
  "Yeah," someone said from behind the
  camera. "But we cut the audio out of his
  Jesus line. The producer didn't want
anyone
  saying that name."
^
  Though GC officials tried everything to get
  Mark to give his name and information, he
  kept silent. He didn't want to be traced
to
  Nicolae High School and his friends in the
  Young Trib Force.
  After they processed him, Mark spent
  hours waiting in an interrogation room. He
  finally got so tired that he put his head on
  the table and went to sleep.
  His dreams the past few years had been
  filled with nightmares of GC raids and fires,
  huge, dragonlike creatures chasing him, and
  the one repeating dream of being caught by
  Nicolae himself. But this time he dreamed of
  golden streets filled with light, love, and
  laughter.
Mark awoke to a slamming door and
  looked at the clock. Had he really been
asleep six hours, or had they changed the clock?
  Commander Fulcire placed a plate of food
  on the table and sat. Chinese. One of Mark's
  favorites. He tried not to look hungry, but
his stomach growled.
  "I heard you wouldn't tell us your name,"
  Fulcire said. He took a mouthful of fried
rice, chomped into an egg roll, and wiped his
  mouth. "I know you think we're evil, but we
  can be quite nice to people who give information."
  Mark was determined not to say anything
  that would hurt his friends, and he didn't
  want to talk at all, but he couldn't resist this
  chance. "My mom always taught me not to
  talk with my mouth full."
  "She did? And what was your mother's
  name?"
  Mark stared at him.
  "Let me tell you something about this
  facility. There are isolated cells where you'd
  be alone, and there are general population
  cells where we put you with other. how
  should I say this?... criminals like yourself. These aren't nice people. They don't believe in much of anything other than their own
  survival. We put a nice young man like you
in with them, and who knows what awful
  things could happen."
  Mark sat back and thought of what the
  angel had said. God was going to use him in
  some way.
  "Tell us your name or you'll go into one of
  those cells."
  Mark stared straight ahead.
  "Suit yourself," Fulcire said. He finished
  the meal, scraping every piece of rice from
  the plate, and walked out of the room.
  When he was gone, Mark bent over and
  tried to lick some of the sauce from the plate,
  but that only fueled his hunger.
  A round man in a green sweater walked in
  with another plate of food. He glanced
  through the window on the door, put the
  plate in front of Mark, and took Mark's
handcuffs
  off.
  "You need to hurry and eat that," the man
  said. "They could be here to get you any
  minute."
  Mark grabbed a plastic fork and pushed
  some fried rice into his mouth. He was so
  hungry he almost inhaled the food. The man
  seemed fascinated with how quickly Mark
  could eat.
  "Why are you helping me?" Mark said.
  The man shook his head. "Can't stand the
  way they treat people. I don't care if you
don't have Carpathia's mark, you're a
human
  being." He held out a hand. Mark shook it
  and kept eating.
  "Fulcire is a decent man. He just wants
to
  know some information so we can process--"
  "So he can process my neck with the blade,"
  Mark said.
  "We're getting information from the others
  who were staying with you."
  Mark smiled. "You didn't catch anyone
  because there wasn't anyone to catch."
  "I'm just trying to help. I don't want to see
  you suffer any more than you have to. If
  there's something you'd like to talk about,
  tell the guard you want to talk to me--"
  The door opened and Fulcire barged in.
  "Cummings, what do you think you're
  doing?"
  "I'm sorry, sir. I was just--"
  Fulcire swatted the half-eaten plate of
food
  from the table, and rice flew onto the walls
  and floor. "Get him out of here!"
  A guard rushed in, seized Mark, and
took
  him through a series of doors. Another guard
  released Mark's feet and pushed him toward a
  row of cells. The room stank, and Mark
  thought he would throw up at the smell. The
  guards took him to the largest cell where at
  least five people slept on cots pushed against
the walls. They handed Mark an energy bar,
  shoved him inside, and slammed the door.
  Two large men stood and approached him.
  One was bald, and Mark guessed he weighed
  three hundred pounds. The other was a
  smaller black man with a stubbly beard.
  The bigger one pulled something sharp
  from his pocket and held it out. "Give me
  that food or we'll cut you!"


  SEVEN
  The Mission
  JUDD and Vicki sat in their home, wondering
  what Mark was going through. They had seen
  the video report Lionel had recorded and
read the messages Commander Fulcire had
  written. No doubt the GC was gloating about
  this new arrest.
  Judd felt confident that Mark wouldn't
tell
  the GC anything important, and even if he
  did, their friends were headed to safety. The
  two prayed for Mark again, asking God to
  help Mark be strong.
  "Do you think they'll torture him?" Vicki
  said.
  "They'll do anything to get information."
  Judd took Vicki's hand. "You know how this
  is going to end." Vicki nodded and tears welled
in her eyes.
  I hate this. We all know it can happen after
watching Chloe. I still remember the feelings
  I had when they caught Pete. You hope
  something miraculous happens, you pray
  that God will step in, but deep down you
  know your friend is as good as gone."
  Judd sighed. "I can't imagine what Buck
is
  going through after losing Chloe."
  "I talked with Priscilla Sebastian
earlier.
  She's watching Kenny when he's not with Buck
  or Rayford. She said Buck basically spends

  waking hours taking care of Kenny or writing."
  "Makes sense. Staying busy probably
keeps
  him sane."
  "I've volunteered to watch Kenny whenever
  they need a break."
  "He really likes you," Judd said. "You'd
  make a good mom."
  Vicki grinned. "I don't know. It seems like
  such a huge responsibility." She paused.
"But
  if that's what God has for us, to be parents,
  I'm up for the challenge." Judd touched her
shoulder. "I've been thinking
  about all that time before the Rapture. My
  parents wanted me to become a godly man--I
didn't even know what that meant, didn't care. I
think I want the chance to pass God's love on
  to other people, kids. And maybe they're not
  ours. Maybe they're kids without parents like
  you're talking about."
  Vicki smiled and hugged him. "Sometimes
I see my mom's face in my dreams. She
loved
  me so much, and I didn't even know it."
  "I remember catching my mom praying for
  me one night. I've never told anybody about
it.
  I was coming home late from some party that I
  shouldn't have gone to, and I slipped in without
  anybody hearing me. I thought they'd all
  be asleep, but when I passed my parents'
bedroom,
  I saw my mom in her reading chair, the
  light on behind her."
  "What was she doing?" Vicki said.
  "Crying. And she was whispering a prayer--
  I heard my name. I always felt bad that I
  didn't tell her I was home. I just went to my
  bedroom."
  Vicki groaned. "It makes me so sad to
  think what I was like before all this. It's
  almost like I wasn't alive--I was just a shell
  looking for something to numb myself even
  more, so I drank or smoked or did stuff to
  help me not feel anything."
  Judd nodded. "I guess if you don't have
  God, you don't want to feel anything because
  it's so scary. You're all alone."
  "Yeah, and that's what makes being a
  believer so great. You can finally be alive. I
  think about the verse that says the evil one
  comes to steal and kill and destroy but Jesus
  to give real life."
"That's what I want. Even though life can
  bring a lot of pain and can really be awful,
  I'll take living it with God's help rather than
  being a spiritual zombie."
^
  Mark nervously handed the larger man his
  energy bar. "I'm not really that hungry."
  The man tore it open, broke it in half, and
  gave some to the bearded man. They ate,
  then retreated to their bunks.
  Mark looked for an empty cot but found
  none, so he went to the corner and sat on the
  floor.
  A young man, Mark guessed he was in his
  thirties, slept nearby. The man opened his
  eyes. "What'd they get you for?"
  Mark shrugged. "Guess I didn't want to
  cooperate with their rules."
  The man lifted his head and stared at Mark.
  "Hey, you don't have Carpathia's tattoo."
  "Don't like tattoos. Especially the GC
kind."
  The man smiled, showing missing teeth.
  "Same here. I dodged it for as long as I could,
  then got caught and thrown in here yesterday.
  Sure seemed like the GC was in a hurry
  with something big. I guess they'll make us
  take the thing or chop us sometime today."
  "What did you do wrong?"
"Sure are nosy, kid," the bearded man said
  from across the room.
  "Lay off him, LeRoy." He turned back
to
  Mark. "I'm Steve. We were doing a little
relocation
  of goods when the GC found us."
  "Problem was, it was the GC'S goods we
  were relocating," LeRoy said.
  "What do you mean?" Mark said.
  "We got caught taking some electronic
  equipment we wanted to sell," Steve said.
  "Some stuff out of a GC warehouse a few
  miles from here. That was LeRoy's idea that
  I said was too risky--"
  "We'd have gotten away with it if you could
  have kept your big mouth shut," LeRoy said.
  "This is the last place I wanted to wind
up."
  "He was in before for murder," Steve said.
  "Got loose during the big earthquake. Been
  on the run since."
  Mark looked at LeRoy, remembering
  Lionel's story about his uncle being killed by a
  man named LeRoy. "What's your last name?"
  "Banks. What about it?"
  That's it! This is the same guy! "Nothing,"
  Mark said. "The name just sounded familiar."
  "Well, you can forget it because I'm gettin'
  out of here and away from this deadwood of a
  partner you're talkin' to. He's going soft on
me
  anyway, talking about that Ben-Judah guy."
Mark looked at Steve. "You've been reading
  Dr. Ben-Judah'sWeb site?"
  Steve nodded. "Had a lady talk to me
  about God and tell me I should read it. I did,
  but I didn't understand it."
  Mark glanced at the men in the next cell.
  "Are there others here who don't have
  Carpathia's mark?"
  "I don't know. Ask "em," Steve said.
  Mark stared down the row of darkened
  cells. He had no idea how long he had before
  the GC came back for him. "Excuse me,"
he
  began nervously. "I don't mean to wake you,
  but how many of you--?"
  "Shut up!"
  "We're trying to sleep, stupid!"
  Others cursed him and threw things at the
  cell bars.
  Mark took a breath and kept going. "Just
  give me a minute and answer this. How
  many of you in here don't have the mark of
  Carpathia?"
  "Shutyour yap, jerk!"
  Steve hurried over to Mark. "You'd better
  watch yourself. These guys'll turn on you
  fast."
  "I don't know how much time I have left
  in here. I have an important message, and if
  I don't talk now they may never hear what I
  have to say."
"Your funeral," Steve said.
  Mark continued. "If you haven't taken the
  mark of Carpathia, I want you to listen. You
  still have a chance to believe the truth."
  A handful of men rolled from under their
  blankets and looked at him.
  "What do you mean, the truth?" Steve said.
  "I think some of you are ready for what
  I'm about to say. God's been working on
  you."
  "I'm going to work on you if you don't shut
  up," someone said. "LeRoy, take care of this
  kid."
  "Shut up and let him talk," LeRoy said.
"I
  got a feeling he won't be here much longer."
  Mark nodded at LeRoy and turned to face
  the men. "When the disappearances
  happened, did any of you lose friends or
  family members?"
  "Of course we did," a man said. "Everybody
  did."
  "Okay. Now think about those people.
  were any of them religious? Did they talk a
  lot about God and go to church?"
  "My mother-in-law vanished and it made
  me religious," a man said. "I thanked God
  for a whole year!"
  The others laughed.
  Mark studied the unmarked tnen-"The
reason those people vanished is because God
  came back for his true children. They were
  immediately taken to heaven, which is where
  they are today. That means every one of us in
  here didn't know God. Anybody who was left
  behind missed the truth."
  He took a step to his right. "You might
  have gone to church or grown up hearing
  stories from the Bible. I know a lot of people
  who lived good lives but were left behind.
  The truth is, everyone still on earth never
  asked God to forgive them, and they never
  turned away from the bad stuff they'd done."
  Mark lowered his voice and explained the
  prophecies about Antichrist and how each of
  the plagues the world had seen had been
  predicted thousands of years earlier. Then he
  spoke of the prophecies concerning the Jewish
  Messiah who would come not just to save
  Jewish people but all who believed in him.
  "That man's name is Jesus," Mark said. "He
  was God in the flesh, and he lived a perfect
  life and died in your place on the cross."
  "Why would God have to die to let us go
  to heaven?" a man said.
  Mark paused, trying to think of a way to
  explain. "God is the great judge of every
  person, and because he's holy, he can't let
  anyone into heaven who's not perfect.
Is there any one of you who's done everything
  right?"
  "My wife always thought she was perfect,"
  a man said, and the others laughed.
  "Everybody falls short of God's standard,"
  Mark said. "We're all guilty and deserve
to be
  separated from him forever. But instead of
  punishing us, the judge himself became a
  prisoner, lived a perfect life, and then took
  our sentence."
  "What's this got to do with us?" LeRoy
  said. "This ain't church."
  Mark focused on the few men standing
  who had no mark. "God is offering each of
  you a key to unlock the cell that's holding
  you. That cell is sin. It traps us and keeps us
  from following God. In the end it will kill
  our souls if we don't ask to be forgiven."
  Someone in the back moved and a cot
  creaked. That was the only sound Mark heard.
  "What about those of us who took that
  mark?" a man said from a few cells away. "I
  didn't want to take it, but they made me."
  Mark pursed his lips. "I don't know what
  to say. The Bible says anyone who takes the
  mark of Antichrist is condemned."
  A clamor rose so loud that Mark thought
  the guards would come. He retreated to his
  corner and prayed for wisdom.
When things calmed, Steve tapped him on
  the shoulder, "Some of the guys want to
  know what to do. Will you tell us?"
  Mark looked up and saw those without
  Carpathia's mark standing with their faces
  pressed against cell bars. A door opened
  down the hall, and Mark heard footsteps.
  "Okay, listen carefully," Mark said. "I'm
  going to tell you. Then you have to pass it on
  to the others."
  Steve frowned. "I don't know if I can--"
  "There's no time! Even if you don't believe
  this or pray the prayer, you have to promise
  me you'll tell the others."
  "I guess I can try."
  "Good. You pray something like this from
  your heart: 'God, I know that I've sinned, and
  I'm sorry for that sin. I believe you sent
Jesus,
  your only Son, to die in my place, and then
  he rose again three days later.. . .""
  Footsteps stopped in front of his cell.
  Someone unlocked the door.
  "I ask you right now to forgive me, come
  into my life, and change me from the inside
  out. And help me not to give in to the evil
  one."
  "Rebel," the guard yelled, "on your feet!"
  "Do you have it?" Mark whispered.
  Steve nodded. "I think so."
  "Rebel!"
"One more thing," Mark said. "Afterward,
  you should be able to see something on their
  foreheads--that is, if you pray too."
  "All right, we'll have to come in and get
  you," the guard said, taking a step toward
  Mark.
  "And remember, tell them not to take
  Carpathia's--"
  The guard jerked Mark to his feet by an
  arm, almost ripping it from its socket. Mark
  yelped and grabbed his shoulder as he was
  dragged from the cell. He looked back at
  Steve. "If they pray, God will give them the
  strength to face the blade." He turned to the
  others watching in stunned silence. "Give
  your lives to God right now! Don't wait!"
  With that the guard threw Mark up against
  the wall. "There's only one God and it's
  Potentate Carpathia!" He kneed Mark,
  doubling him over, then put a gag in his
  mouth and pushed him through the door.
  Mark glanced back but couldn't see Steve
  or any of the others. "God, I don't know if
I
  gave them enough, but I pray you'd use what
  I said in their hearts," Mark prayed. "Help
  Steve, and give them the faith to see the truth
  and call out to you."


EIGHT
  Interrogation
  MARK was led into a room that had a table,
  three chairs, and a huge mirror on one wall.
  He guessed Commander Fulcire was watching
  from the other side but was surprised
  when the man entered and sat across the
  table from him.
  Though Mark's leg wasn't hurting, his head
  and stomach ached from the guard's treatment.
  "I was told you weren't cooperating in the
  cell," Fulcire said.
  Mark stared at him.
  Fulcire tossed a folder onto the table.
Mark's
  mug shot was on top. "Your name is Mark
  Eisman. You attended Nicolae High in
Mount
  Prospect. I suspect you were part of the underground
  that began the rebel newspaper at that
  school. You were known to be a friend of Vicki
Byrne, the same Vicki Byrne who killed her
  principal. Also known to the Global Community
  as Vicki B. She's been quite a burr under
  our saddle."
  Mark was shocked.
  Commander Fulcire ran a hand over the file
  and pulled out a page printed from the Young
  Trib Force's Web site. "We've pieced
together some of your movements. The old
schoolhouse,
  the fire in Wisconsin, the Stahley
hideaway.
  Tell me, is the young girl--Darrion, I
  think her name was--still with your group, or
  did you leave her behind like you did the
  others?"
  "What others?" Mark said.
  Fulcire raised his eyebrows. "That got your
  attention, eh?" He pulled a picture of
Natalie Bishop out of the pile and held it up. "This
  face ring a bell? Would you like to see what
  she looked like as she pleaded for her life? As
  she told us everything she knew about you?"
  He held up a gruesome photo of Natalie
just
  after her execution.
  "You're a monster," Mark mumbled.
  "Excuse me? I didn't hear that last comment."
  Mark clenched his teeth and tried to keep
  quiet, but his anger boiled over. "You will pay
  for the way you've treated followers of God.
"You mean followers of the false God. And
  I think the one who is about to pay is you."
  "She was a sweet girl. You had no right
  to--"
  "That "sweet girl" helped several
prisoners
  escape, gave vital Global Community
information
  to our enemies, and was a wolf in
  sheep's clothing. But she became quite talkative
  near the end."
  "Right, which is exactly what you're going to
  say about me, though I'm not going to give
  you any more information than she did."
  Fulcire pursed his lips. "We can do this the
  easy way or the hard way. I suppose you
  prefer the more difficult path. Makes you feel
  like you're doing something noble, suffering
  like your so-called Messiah."
  Fulcire nodded toward the door, and a
  guard walked behind Mark's chair. Mark
  braced himself for a blow to the head or body,
  but none came.
  "There are ways to get the information we
  need," Fulcire said. "We don't have time to
  starve you. Things must move along a little
  quicker than that. We want to know about
  the others who were with you in the cabins."
  Mark smiled. "I knew you hadn't caught
  them."
  So there were others ..."
"Hundreds," Mark said. "And they all
  escaped by balloon."
  Fulcire scowled and looked at the guard.
  Suddenly Mark felt pain in his right arm. The
  guard had stabbed him with a needle.
  "This little concoction will be swimming
  through your bloodstream in a few minutes,"
  Fulcire said. "We'll continue our discussion
  then, and I promise you will be more forthcoming."
  Mark closed his eyes and shook his head.
  "It's working already. My head ... it feels so
  light."
  Fulcire squinted and leaned over the table.
  "I'll tell you now," Mark gasped. "It
wasn't
  a balloon. They took the yellow brick road
  to Oz."
  Fulcire stood and glanced at the guard. The
  two walked out without speaking.
  "Don't go yet," Mark pleaded, laughing.
  "I have more to tell you about the flying
  monkeys and the Tin Man."
  As the door slammed, Mark's laughter
  turned to tears. The drug gave him a strange
  sensation.
  ""The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything
  I need," Mark whispered. "'He lets me
  rest in green meadows; he leads me beside
  peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He
  guides me along right paths, bringing honor
to his name. Even when I walk through the
  dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for
  you are close beside me. Your rod and your
  staff protect and comfort me. . . .""
^
  Judd was excited to meet with Rayford Steele
  and talk about the mission to Baghdad. Judd
  had seen Rayford around Petra but hadn't
  talked with him face-to-face.
  Judd didn't expect to play a big part in the
  Baghdad operation, but he and Vicki definitely
  wanted to be there. He had tinkered
  with electronics when he was younger, and
  he was sure he could help. And with Zeke's
  ability to change people's appearances, there
  was no way the GC would ever know who he
  and Vicki really were.
  Rayford met Judd and Vicki at the tech
  center and moved to one of the high places
  where Tsion and his elders had their meetings.
  Rayford had aged a few years since Judd had
  first seen him, and though his hair was turning
  a little gray, he was still in good shape.
  "We've been praying for you and Buck and
  Kenny," Vicki said as they sat.
  "That means a lot to us," Rayford said.
  "We know every day that passes brings us
  closer to seeing her again, but it's hard. If we
didn't have the hope of heaven, I don't know
  what we'd do."
  "You spoke with her before she died,
  right?" Judd said.
  Rayford nodded. "I guess the GC was
  trying to trick her by having her call one of
  our secure numbers, but it backfired on
  them."
  "How's that?" Vicki said.
  "Well, after she gave me a message for
  Buck and Kenny, she told me she had been
  jogging near the San Diego hideout--which
  couldn't have been true. Chloe would never
  have been caught outside like that."
  "What do you think she was doing?" Judd
  said.
  "Trying to draw the GC away," Rayford
  said. "They were close to finding the others,
  and she was on watch that night."
  "So how did her call backfire on the
GC?"
  Vicki said.
  "She mentioned something about a
  vacation our family had taken. I couldn't
  understand why talking about that was so
  important, and then I realized she was
  trying to tell me something. She said if she
  had one dream it would be that "we could
  all go there right now, as soon as possible.""
  "She was talking about the others in the
  hideout?" Judd said.
"Yes. I didn't figure it out until later
when
  Mac asked questions about that vacation. One
  of the places we went was Red Rocks, west of
  Denver. Mac made the connection about the
  red rocks of Petra, and we figured she meant
  we should get everybody over here pronto."
  "Chloe was one of the smartest people I
  ever met," Vicki said.
  Rayford smiled. "She said the same about
  you. Chloe told me once that you reminded
  her of her, just a few years younger."
  Vicki blushed. "That's the best compliment
  I've ever received."
  "Which makes what I'm about to say even
  more difficult," Rayford said. He took a
  breath. "We're not going to be using you in
  the Baghdad operation."
  Judd gulped and looked away. "Can I ask
  why?"
  "It was my decision. Chang and I have
  handpicked the team and feel we have the
  right amount of people. The GC has seen
  Vicki's picture, and we can assume they've
  seen yours as well. We don't need unnecessary
  risks."
  "But you're going, aren't you?" Judd said.
  "That's right--"
  "And you were on Carpathia's staff. That
  has to be a lot more dangerous than--"
Vicki put a hand on Judd's arm.
  Captain Steele looked at the ground.
  "I'm sorry," Judd said. "I
don't mean to
  question your authority. We'll abide by whatever
  decision you make. And we'd be glad to
  help out here any way we can."
  "I like that attitude."
  After Rayford left, Judd and Vicki walked
  back to their home and talked about the situation.
  "I think we have to face the fact that
  Captain Steele is always going to think we're
  still just crazy teenagers," Judd said.
  "I don't think he feels that way. Think of
  all the other people he didn't include in this
  operation. Our time will come."
  "I just think we're going to be left out of
  the really good assignments."
  "Which ones?" Vicki said, Judd opened the door
to their home and
  followed Vicki inside. He clicked on the
computer
  screen and brought up a map of Israel.
  "This is the area where the Battle of Armageddon
  is going to be fought. And this is the spot
  where Jesus is supposed to come back."
  "I know all that," Vicki said. "What's it
got
  to do with us?"
  "I want to be there, right in the middle of
  things and see it with my own eyes. I want to
  help fight the GC or at least support those
  who are trying to defend Jerusalem."
"And what about me?"
  "I want you right there beside me." Judd
  took Vicki in his arms. "It'll be the greatest
  moment in the history of the world, and you
  and I are going to see it."
  "One problem. How are we going to get
  there?"
  Judd pushed Vicki a few inches away and
  looked at her. "I'll take care of that, but not
a
  word about this to anybody. It's going to be
  our secret."
^
  A few minutes after they gave Mark the shot,
  he felt woozy. This must be what a numbskull
  feels like, he thought.
  He sat up and noticed someone standing
  in the corner by the one-way mirror. Mark
  leaned close and squinted. It was the angel
  from the bus.
  "You're back?" Mark said.
  The angel smiled and nodded. "You didn't
  finish the verses. The rest of the Psalm you
  were quoting."
  "Oh, that," Mark said. "Where was I?"
  ""You prepare a feast for me in the presence
  of my enemies. You welcome me as a
  Suest, anointing my head with oil. My cup
  overflows with blessings." his
Mark nodded and picked up the end of the
  verse." "Surely your goodness and unfailing
  love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and
  I will live in the house of the Lord forever.""
  "That is what you can look forward to, my
  friend," the angel said.
  Mark leaned back in his chair. "This stuff
  they gave me, will it make me talk?"
  "You don't have to do anything you don't
  want to do. God will give you the strength to
  resist, no matter what they put into your
  veins. After all, as one of your hymn writers
  has said, The body they may kill; God's
truth
  abideth still: His kingdom is forever.""
  "So I just shut my mouth and keep
quiet?"
  "Be creative."
  Mark smiled. "Yeah, I'll try."
  "They are almost ready to return. Before
  they do, I must tell you there was great
  rejoicing today."
  "For what?"
  "Because of you, because of the message,
  and because a few have gone from the kingdom
  of darkness to the kingdom of light."
  "Steve," Mark whispered. "He told the
  others what I said?"
  "He did, and they all believed in the only
  begotten Son of the Father, Jesus, the name
  that is above every name."
  "How many?" Mark said.
Footsteps echoed down the hall.
  "The ones who were appointed to believe
  have done so. You need not be concerned
  about the number. And now I will leave you."
  "Please don't," Mark said. "Can't you stay
  and help me ... do whatever I'm supposed
  to do?"
  "If you truly need me, I'll be here," the
  angel said.
  With that, the door opened and commander
  Fulcire walked in with another man
  Mark hadn't seen before. When the door
  closed, Mark noticed the angel was gone.
  Commander Fulcire looked closely at Mark
  and sat with a huge sandwich and onion
  rings. Barbecue sauce dripped from the
  bread, and Mark's stomach growled.
  Fulcire took a bite of the sandwich and
  licked his fingers. "You know, it's amazing
  what the cooks here can do. A little information
  and we'll serve you a heaping plateful of
  some delicious food."
  "I'm worried about your cholesterol,"
  Mark said. "You really need to cut down on
  the fatty foods."
  The other man sat near Fulcire and eyed
  Mark. "Let's start with something easy," he
  said.
  "Who are you?" Mark said.
"Deputy Commander Lockerbie," the man
  said. "You're MarkEisman, right?"
  "If that's who you want me to be, that's
  who I am."
  "It's not a question of who we want you to
  be but a quest for reality. Are you Mark
  Eisman?"
  "Yes."
  The man noted his answer and continued.
  "Are you part of the so-called Young Tribulation
  Force?"
  "Yeah, I head up intramural sports."
  "What was that?" Fulcire said.
  "You know, basketball, football, badminton
--that
  kind of thing. We tried to get a
  bowling team together, but we couldn't find
  an alley--"
  "That's enough, Mr. Eisman," Fulcire said.
  "Yeah, it was enough for us to go after a
  Softball team. Had a hard time getting
jerseys
  made up and an even harder time finding
  someone to play against."
  "Enough!" Fulcire said.
  "Have you ever participated in disloyal acts
  to the potentate?" Lockerbie said.
  "No, not since I became a believer in him."
  "Have you ever stolen anything to aid in
  your rebel acts?"
  "Well, there was that satellite truck. I'm
  real sorry about that. I was going to fill it up
with gas and return it, but I couldn't find you
  guys."
  Lockerbie and Fulcire were not laughing,
  but Mark was having a good time. He looked
  past the men and saw his friend standing in
  the corner, chuckling.
  "How am I doing so far?" Mark said to the
  angel.
  Fulcire thought he was talking to him.
  "You won't be laughing when we take you to
  the blade."
  "Probably not, but at least I'll know where
  I'm headed after my head's gone. You can kill
  my body, but you can't take my soul."
  When Fulcire looked at the list of questions,
Mark shook his head. "Look, Commander,
  I'm not going to tell you any more about my
  group because I don't know anything more.
  You probably want supply routes and locations
  of safe houses and that kind of stuff, and
  I'm just not going to give it up. So why don't
  we call this thing a bust? You sharpen your
  blade, and we can be done."
  Lockerbie asked a few more questions, butt
  Mark wouldn't say a word.
  Finally Fulcire slammed his fist on the
  table and yelled, "Solitary!"
  Mark was surprised he had gotten away
  without anyone trying to torture him. Would
that come later? When he made it to his
  room, he collapsed on his cot and fell into a
  deep sleep. He dreamed of streets paved with
  gold.


  NINE
  Eyewitness Report
  EARLY the next morning in Petra, Lionel
made contact with Darrion and the others in Illinois
  and discovered they had found Lenore
  and her friends. Lionel wrote down their
  information and promised he would give
  them an update on Mark as soon as he heard
  anything.
  "Jim Dekker, Colin Dial, and Conrad are
  talking about a rescue," Darrion said.
  "I wouldn't recommend it," Lionel said.
"If
  the info we're getting from Fulcire's
computer
  is right, Mark is deep in the jail there. It would
  take a magician to get in and out."
  Darrion said she would talk with the others
  and said goodbye.
  Lionel had been glued to the computer for
  a long time, so he decided to take a walk.
He
  found Sam Goldberg and Mr. Stein and
explained the situation. The two were visibly
  upset and knelt where they were and prayed.
  "Sovereign Lord, we ask you to send your
  ministering angels to encourage Mark right
  now," Mr. Stein prayed. "Prepare him for
  whatever you have planned."
  After they had prayed, Sam took Lionel
  to meet his friend Lev Taubman and his
  mother. They had become believers shortly
  after family members had died in a rebellion.
  "Lev has been in touch with some friends
  in Jerusalem," Sam said.
  "Believers?" Lionel said.
  Lev shook his head. "But they have not
  taken the mark of Carpathia. They say they
  are going to fight with rebel forces against
  Carpathia. They want to save Jerusalem."
  "That'll be like a peewee football team
  trying to win against an NFL team," Lionel
  said.
  "What?" Sam said.
  "They're going to lose the battle, and
  they'll probably all be killed."
  "I know that," Sam said. "But Lev and I
  think we might be able to reach some of
  them for God. We want to go to Jerusalem
  before the big battle and tell them the truth."
  After hearing their plan, Lionel thought he
  should tell Judd and Vicki about this new
  development.
^
  Mark sat alone in the darkness and waited.
  He could have played the interrogation a little
  better and made them think he was giving
  them solid information, but he was tired of
  playing.
  His cell was down the hall and around the
  corner from the other prisoners. He felt
  something crawling on him and stood and
  flailed his arms. He settled on the cot and
  pulled a lone blanket around his shoulders.
  Through the hall came singing, but Mark
  couldn't make out the words. Then another
  voice joined in and another. There had to be
  at least half a dozen people singing now.
  Mark put his ear to the door. He heard the
  word Jesus in the song, slid to the floor, and
closed his eyes. He thought of little Ryan, the
  Fogartys" son. How many times had Mark
  helped put him down for a nap singing
  "Jesus Loves Me"? That was one of Ryan's
  favorites, and he always asked Mark to sing it
  again and again.
  A soft glow filled the room, and Mark
  greeted the angel. The being looked at him
  kindly and sat. Mark couldn't believe he was
  so comfortable with this heavenly visitor.
  "What was that singing?" Mark said.
"I was teaching your friends a new song,"
  the angel said.
  "Were they scared of you?"
  "No. And they learned the words quickly."
  "What about the unbelievers? They must
  have been afraid."
  The angel smiled. "They managed to fall
  into a deep sleep."
  "That happens a lot with you, doesn't
it?"
  Mark said. "Those guards on the bus did the
  same thing when you came around."
  The angel smiled again.
  "What song did you teach them?"
  The angel closed his eyes and began singing
  in a low, pleasing voice.
  "What can wash away my sin?
  Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
  What can make me whole again'?
  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
  Oh! precious is the flow
  That makes me white as snow;
  No other fount I know,
  Nothing but the blood of Jesus."
  "That's good. You should get a band
  together and go on the road."
  "We lift our voices in praise every day, but
  I must say, the words of the hymn writers are
  unique."
"What do you mean?" Mark said.
  "Humans write about redemption, salvation,
  the power in the blood of Jesus. We
  angels know nothing about such things,
  other than what we observe. We cannot be
  "saved, as you would call it. We had one
  chance to follow or rebel and that was it."
  "You mean when Satan was cast out of
  heaven?" Mark said.
  "Correct. One third of the host of heaven
  followed Lucifer, and the others remained
  faithful to the Almighty. But all humans have
  fallen. All of them have sinned and fallen
  short of the glory of God."
  "I guess I've never really thought about it
  that way. So why did we get a second chance
  and you didn't?"
  The angel took a breath, as if he were
smelling a sweet flower for the first time. "The grace
  of God," he whispered. "We look at it and
are encouraged. We see it at work and are in awe
  of the plan of the Lord. He became one of you,
  a kinsman redeemer--a person who was in
  every way like you, except that this person was
  without sin. Jesus, who was God, became
  human.... I was there, you know."
  "Where?"
  "Bethlehem, on the hills overlooking
the town. You should have seen those shepherds
when we started singing." The angel paused. "But I
tell you too much."
  "No, please don't stop," Mark said.
  The angel put his hands on his knees. "We didn't
know what to think, the Son of God coming to earth as a
helpless baby. That he would submit to such a life,
then give himself as a sacrifice on Golgotha."
The angel shuddered. "Such an ugly death."
  "You were there?"
  "The Son could have called on us at any moment,
and we would have taken him from that place." He held out
a fist. "We would have struck down those Romans like
toy soldiers. But he didn't call on us. He
took the shame and the beatings and the nails." He shook
his head. "How can you understand? How can any being
comprehend such love?"
  Mark bit his lip. "Can you teach me the song? I
went to church, but I don't really
  remember it." The angel spoke the words again,
then
  picked up the melody and Mark sang along.
  When he heard the words, Mark found he could
memorize them immediately. Tears rimmed his
eyes as he reached the next verse.
  "Now by this I'll overcome-- Nothing but the
blood of Jesus; Now by this I'll reach my
home--
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious
is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other
fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus."
  Footsteps approached and the angel stood, his
nostrils flaring.
  "Is this it? "Mark said.
  "I'm not sure. From what I can tell, there may
be one more test of your will. But stand strong, my friend. You
are a child of the King, and you will soon be home."
  The door opened and Mark scooted to avoid it.
  Deputy Commander Lockerbie walked through with
another guard. "This way, Eisman."
  They led Mark through a series of hallways. He
had no idea what time it was, but when the deputy
commander took him outside, the cool, brisk air
hit him in the face and Mark breathed deeply. The
moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky.
  Across the courtyard was a row of wooden tables,
dwarfed by several guillotines. Mark had seen this
setup on live feeds from GC prisons around the
world. Some of the highest rated programs on
television were rebel
executions. Mark hadn't watched many of these, but the
ones he had seen had turned his stomach.
  In spite of the cool weather, flies buzzed around
them. The smell was overpowering. Several huge trash
bins stood alongside the main building.
  The deputy commander excused the guard and turned
to Mark. "This is where it happens. Unless you
cooperate, tomorrow you'll be out here."
  "This is where I'll wind up no matter what I
say and you know it."
  "Not necessarily. You give us information on
pilots, supply routes, locations of hiding
places, information like that, and we'll make things
easier." Lockerbie had a kind face, not
unlike Mark's cousin John. In fact, the two
looked remarkably alike. "We have information that your
group has been in contact with the mole inside the
palace in New Babylon. Do you know anything about
that?"
  "Look, I can help in a lot of ways, but if
the palace has a mole, I'd suggest you get an
exterminator or a trap. I don't know much about
catching small animals."
  "Not that kind of mole. You know what
I'm talking about."
  "You get nothing from me," Mark said.
  The deputy commander turned Mark
around and keys jangled. Soon Mark's hands were
free. He rubbed his wrists to get the circulation
going again. "Why'd you do that?"
  Lockerbie sighed. "Not all of us in here are the
monsters you think we are. We do have some compassion."
  "You mean like a nice meal before you slice my
neck?"
  "No, I can see that you live. Simply take
the mark and we'll put you in a cell of your own.
After this all dies down you can be moved and have more
privileges. I'll even find a Bible for you."
  "Right, like I really believe you're going to come through
on all that."
  Lockerbie dug into his pocket and frowned.
"They would have my head if they knew I was doing this,
but I had a younger brother. He was killed in the
outbreak of poison gas. You remind me of him."
He handed Mark a cell phone. "I'm going to let
you stay out here for a while. You won't be able to run.
There's razor wire all around, and the guards are
armed. But think about your life and what it's worth.
Call someone you know, someone who cares for
you. I'll be back in a few minutes." Mark
took the phone and studied it as the deputy commander
slipped inside. What an obvious trick! The
GC wants me to call my
friends -- any number they can trace. The phone
might even have a bug in it so they can listen.
  Mark ambled over to a wooden table and glanced at
a guard high in a tower. The ground was wet with dew.
He sat on the table and studied a guillotine. The
contraption disgusted him and he turned away.
  Who could he call? No way was he going to dial
Conrad, Shelly, or the others. He also didn't
want to call Petra. Though he longed to talk with
Judd, Lionel, or Vicki, he didn't
want to mess up and have them give information the GC
wanted. Then he got an idea. A truly
inspired idea. The angel will like this one, Mark
thought.
^
  Lionel hit the Record button while he watched the
latest news from the United North American
States. He had asked Naomi to get Judd and
Vicki.
  An anchorwoman named April Wojekowski
held one hand to her ear as she searched for
words. "I'm told that you're one of the rebels
captured by Commander Fulcire in last night's
raid, is that correct?"
  "You got that right," a young man said. The voice
sounded familiar. Could it be Mark?
"That commander is a tough bird. He's been asking
me lots of questions, and I've been giving him lots
of answers."
  It is Mark!
  "Is that so?" Wojekowski said.
  "Yeah, they gave me one phone call, and I
thought I'd make it to the media so you could have the
story."
  "And what story is that?"
  "I was part of a group called the Young Tribulation
Force that started an underground Web site. We
wanted people to know about the Global Community because we
thought it was bad. Now, after talking with Commander
Fulcire and the others here, I know the truth."
  "So the commander has set you straight?"
  "Right."
  Lionel's heart sank. Was Mark giving the
GC information? Had they somehow brainwashed him?
Judd and Vicki ran in and Lionel put a finger
to his lips. "Mark's on the phone with
GCNN."
^
  Mark had slowly moved behind the huge trash bins,
being careful the guard in the tower didn't notice
him. He hid, choking at the awful smell, hoping
this would be the last place anyone would look.
He had gotten the GCNN phone number from the
directory of the deputy commander's cell phone.
He hadn't expected to actually get on the air,
but when it happened he prayed God would keep him
calm.
  "What have you told Commander Fulcire that you'd like
to share with us?" Wojekowski said.
  The door to the courtyard banged open, and several
guards poured out.
  Mark held the phone close, took a deep
breath, and spoke softly. "Actually, I haven't
even shared this with the commander, so you'll be the first to know."
He imagined the woman looking into the camera and
sitting a little taller in her chair. "To all those who
have read our Web site, or who were interested in knowing
why the disappearances happened, or why we've had
all these natural disasters, like the darkness in New
Babylon, I'd like to point them to Dr. Tsion
Ben-Judah's Web site." Mark gave the
address quickly before the woman cut him off.
"So the commander hasn't really changed your mind about
being against Potentate Carpathia?"
  Footsteps getting closer. Voices yelling.
  "Being in here and seeing how they treat prisoners
makes me all the more determined
to live my last breath for Jesus Christ," Mark
said.
  "Behind the garbage bins!" a guard shouted.
^  "Judd, Vicki, Lionel, Conrad--and
anybody who's listening--I'm not alone in here!
I'm all right. And I'll see you on the other
side!"
  The phone clicked and Mark wondered if his friends
had heard his last few words.
  Someone shoved a gun barrel into Mark's back and
he stood. Deputy Commander Lockerbie snatched
the phone away and led him back to his cell.



  TEN
  The Blade
  THE next few minutes were agony for Judd and the
others watching from Petra. Judd put himself in
Mark's place and pictured the GC leading him
straight to the guillotine.
  It was Vicki's idea to pray, and Naomi
Tiberius ran for her father, an elder at
Petra. She returned with him and Chaim
Rosenzweig.
  "Dear ones," Chaim said softly, "let us join
together."
  For the next hour the group gave thanks to God for
Mark--for all the things he had done to help people come
to know Jesus and for the good friend he had been.
  "Father, we ask that you give special comfort and
strength to Mark right now," Chaim prayed. "Stir his
heart and give him a peace that passes all
understanding."
When Eleazar Tiberius spoke, his voice boomed
in the tech center, and many of the workers stopped what they
were doing and gathered around. Judd didn't even know
most of them, but he could tell they sensed one of their
brothers was in trouble.
  "Sovereign Lord, we knew when this period of
Tribulation began that many would die for your sake,"
Mr. Tiberius prayed. "And though we would ask
for a miracle, it may be your will that Mark passes
through this fire rather than being taken out of it. So I ask
you to bring to his mind what the psalmist said: 'Lord,
give to me your unfailing love, the salvation that you
promised me. Then I will have an answer for those who
taunt me, for I trust in your word. Do not
snatch your word of truth from me, for my only hope
is in your laws.""
  Vicki wept as she prayed. "Father, you know how much Mark and I
disagreed, but I never doubted that he wanted to follow
you as much as anyone. Whatever's happening to him right
now, help him remember all of his friends and how much
we love him."
  "Yes, Father," Chang prayed. "Because of you and
your love, none of us is ever alone. We thank you
for friendships and the chance to join in the sufferings of our
brother Mark. If we could take his place, we
would do that, but you have called him to face this final task and you would
not choose someone who would fail you. We give you
thanks and pray you would hold Mark up even now."
^
  Mark came back to consciousness, not knowing how long
he had been in his darkened cell. He groped his
way across the floor until he reached the cot. He
felt his head and found a lump the size of a
Ping-Pong ball. His back ached, and he wondered
how many guards had joined in the capture.
  He wished his angel friend would return. He would
have to ask his name this time. How good of God to send a
final companion.
  Verses flooded Mark's mind, especially from the
Psalms. Then he recalled Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane and his prayer to God to "take this
cup of suffering away from me." Jesus' mental
anguish had been so intense that the Bible said he had
sweat great drops of blood. Suddenly Mark could
understand that a little better.
  "God, thanks for letting me go through this. I
wouldn't have chosen it, but if this is what you want me
to do, I want to be faithful."
  Mark thought of Jesus' crucifixion. He had
been tortured and killed. Dying on the cross
took hours of agony. Mark's would be over in
seconds--at least that's what he hoped.
  "What are you thinking, my friend?" someone said.
  Mark looked up. It was the angel, standing in a
corner, shining with a heavenly light. "You mean you can't
read my mind?" Mark said.
  "Only the Almighty can see into your heart. We
can only guess."
  "I'm just trying to think straight," Mark said.
"Could I ask your name?"
  "You may call me Caleb."
  "Have you done this many times?"
  Caleb nodded. "There have been more in the
past few months than ever."
  "Does anybody ... I mean, when it comes time
to ... you know . . ."
  "God's people have always acted with great courage. Some
weep at the end, others sing, and some quote
Scripture. It is different every time, and yet there
are remarkable similarities."
  "Like what?"
  "The looks on their faces. The hope that shines
through. Those who are doing the killing look like shells,
but the ones being executed are truly alive. It
happened that way recently with Chloe Williams.
She was able to speak of the living Christ before her death."
  "You visited Chloe?"
Caleb put a hand over his chest. "Her heart was
breaking over leaving her husband and son, but she
expressed her desire to be with Jesus."
  "Will you do the same thing you did in the courtyard when
Chloe was executed? You know, the bright shimmering thing
we saw on TV?"
  Caleb smiled. "Each event is different.
If there is need for me to be there and speak, I will."
He tilted his head slightly to the left and gazed
at Mark. "Thus says the Son of the most high
God: "I am the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in Me, though he may
die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never die." Be comforted by these
words."
  Mark raised his eyebrows. "Thank you. I
hope I won't let you down."
  The angel stepped closer. "I know you won't
because you are one of his."
  Mark took a deep breath. His throat caught
and he had trouble speaking. "Well, I don't know
how to thank you for coming and helping me get through this. I
suppose you have other things you could be doing--angel
stuff."
  Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
  Caleb smiled again." "Peace I leave with
you," says your Lord Christ. "My peace I
give
you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.""
  And Caleb was gone.
  Commander Fulcire stepped into the room,
accompanied by several guards. Mark thought it odd the
deputy commander wasn't there.
  When Mark stepped from the prison, the first
rays of light peeked over the horizon. A long,
thin cloud tinged with yellow hung in the sky. The way
the sun hit it made it look almost golden. A
jet sped high in the sky leaving a white trail.
It intersected the cloud and came out the other side.
Mark couldn't help thinking the whole thing looked like a
cross.
  Mark expected the same kind of fanfare as
Chloe, news trucks lined up, the works. But there
weren't even people manning the tables at this hour. A
few guards huddled together, trying to keep warm.
  Fulcire pushed Mark to the first guillotine and
turned. "Bring out the others."
  After a few moments, six men were led from the jail.
Mark recognized Steve at the front of the group
with the mark of the believer on his forehead. The others all
had the same mark.
  Commander Fulcire pulled a cell phone from his
pocket and dialed a number.
Steve smiled and stood close to Mark. "I was
afraid you'd be gone before they brought us out here."
  "Me too," Mark said. "You must have remembered
all I said."
  "It's funny. I knew everything you told me,
even believed it. I knew God was doing
all the stuff around us, but I always thought I was too
far gone to turn around."
  "We want to thank you," another man said
to Mark. "I think God brought you to us."
  Mark nodded. "I think you're right." He looked
at Steve. "But why did they single you guys out this
morning?"
  Steve's eyes twinkled. "We all said we
didn't want you to be alone. We told the guards
we would never bow down to Carpathia or take his
mark, and if they were going to use these--" he nodded
toward the guillotines -- "that we wanted to be with
you."
  Mark shook his head and bit his lip to keep from
crying. "You didn't have to do that."
  "You didn't have to come to us, and you didn't have
to risk telling us your message," another man
whispered. "But you did."
  "That reminds me of a verse in the Bible, a
couple actually," Mark said. "Paul says something
about being thankful to God every time he thinks of the people
he's writing
says, "I always pray for you, and I make my
requests with a heart full of joy because you have been my
partners in spreading the Good News about
Christ from the time you first heard it until now."
  "You guys haven't been believers long, but you have
been faithful to what God called you. The next
verse says, "And I am sure that God, who
began the good work within you, will continue his work until it
is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus
comes back again." That day is coming real soon, but
we're going to see him sooner.
  "When Jesus hung on the cross, just before he
died, he said to a man next to him, "Today you will be with
me in paradise." Well, I believe that the
moment we leave this life, we're going to see him,
and you'll see that the little bit of suffering we had to go
through here will really be worth it."
  "A man came to us and taught us a song,"
another man said.
  "That was an angel," Mark said.
  The men's eyes widened.
  "I didn't see any wings," Steve said.
  Commander Fulcire stepped forward and faced Mark.
"You have some kind of feeling for these prisoners?"
  "They're my brothers," Mark choked.
  "Quaint. Well, I'll give you one more
chance. What you say now could save the life of your
'brothers, as you call them. I will allow
them to go back to their cells and live if you'll tell
us what we want to know."
  Mark wanted to tell Commander Fulcire the truth
a final time. He wanted to scream at him that
Jesus was coming back and would conquer the armies of the
Antichrist. Instead, Mark felt compassion for the
man who had followed the devil.
  "I feel sorry for you," Mark whispered.
  Fulcire laughed. "You feel sorry for me?"
  "One day every person on earth will admit that
Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the true
Potentate and the Creator of the universe."
  "So you don't want to save your friends?"
  "One day soon, New Babylon is going to be
destroyed."
  "Impossible."
  "And the armies of your leader will go to battle against
God's people."
  "I hope to be there," Fulcire said.
  "You and those like you who wear the uniform of the Global
Community will be struck down."
  "With all the weaponry and firepower at our
disposal? Not likely."
  Mark looked at the guards with Fulcire. "Do
anything you can to stay away from the
last battle. Get sick. Run away. But
don't be near Israel in six months."
  The guards scoffed. Fulcire motioned, and two
guards led Steve to the guillotine. "Last chance
to save this man's life," the commander said.
  Steve looked back at Mark. "I've already
been saved. Can you guys sing one more time?"
  The others began the song Caleb had taught them.
As they sang the verse, "'This is all my hope
and peace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; This is
all my righteousness, Nothing but the blood of
Jesus!" the blade fell and Steve died.
  One by one the guards led the others in front of
Mark to the guillotine. The guards tried to stop them
from singing, and several men went to the guillotine with
missing teeth, but they kept singing to the end.
  Fulcire saved Mark for last. As the guards
picked up the body of the man before him and moved it, the
commander pushed Mark toward the blood-caked machine.
"Look around you, Eisman. No masses of people
to preach to. No flashing lights of supposed
angels. You die alone, and you die now."
  Mark felt a sense of peace flowing, like the
prayers of his friends were lifting him. Faces flashed
in his mind--Judd's, Vicki's,
Lionel's, Ryan's, and many others. He had fought the good
fight. He hadn't done everything perfectly, and he
had done some stupid things, but God had used him.
  He knelt on the blood-soaked ground. Holy
ground, he thought. Ground soaked by the blood of the
martyrs.
  Caleb's song came to him and he sang it
softly. "'now by this I'll overcome--Nothing but
the blood of Jesus, Now by this I'll reach my
home--Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh!
precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of
Jesus.""
  With his eyes fixed on the ground, Mark breathed a
final prayer knowing that at any second he would be in
the presence of God.
  "Into your hands I commit my spirit," he whispered.
  "Good riddance, Judah-ite," Fulcire said.
  A lever tripped.
  Something clunked, and Mark felt the machine shudder
as the blade plunged.
  A millisecond before it hit his neck, Mark
thought he heard rustling wings and singing.
  Then a flash of light.
  And he was in heaven.



  ELEVEN
  Tsion's Message
  FOR THE next several days Judd moved around
Petra in a fog. He kept replaying first
meeting Mark and John at Nicolae High and
all the things they had been through. Though Vicki
talked openly about Mark's death, Judd found it
difficult. He knew that frustrated Vicki, but
it was taking him longer to accept the truth. Mark was
gone.
  As Vicki played with Kenny in their house,
Judd took a walk to one of the high places and
sat. He asked God to help him understand what had
happened. Within minutes, an ovation arose in the
distance. As Judd made his way carefully down the
mountainside, he heard the voice of Tsion
Ben-Judah echo off the rock walls.
  Judd had heard from Lionel that Tsion planned
to go live on international television
with Chang's help. Judd wondered what
Carpathia and his goons would think of that. Tsion was
speaking to not only a million in Petra but
billions worldwide.
  When Judd arrived at the massive
gathering, Tsion was already well into his message.
He explained that the truth of God's Word was
confirmed by the judgments and plagues. From the
disappearances to the hail and fire, the burning mountain
that fell into the sea, to the demonic locusts--all
these and more were proof that God's Word was true.
  "... Two more judgments await before the glorious
appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the
Christ," Tsion was saying to the people and a nearby camera.
"Hear me! The Euphrates River will become as
dry land! Scoff today but be amazed when it happens,
and remember it was foretold. The last judgment will be
an earthquake that levels the entire globe. This
judgment will bring hail so huge it will kill
millions.
  "I am asked every day, how can people see all these
things and still choose Antichrist over Christ? It is
the puzzle of the ages. For many of you, it is already
too late to change your mind. You may now see that
you have chosen the wrong side in this war. But if you
pledged your allegiance to the enemy of God
by taking his mark of loyalty, it is too late for
you.
  "If you have not taken the mark yet, it may still be
too late, because you waited so long. You
pushed the patience of God past the breaking point.
  "But there may be a chance for you. You will know only
if you pray to receive Christ, tell God you
recognize that you are a sinner and separated from him,
and that you acknowledge that your only hope is in the
blood of Christ, shed on the cross for you.
  "Remember this: If you do not turn to Christ and
are not saved from the coming judgment, this awful earth you
endure right now is as good as your life will ever get.
If you do turn to Christ and your heart has not already
been hardened, this world is the worst you'll see for the
rest of eternity.
  "For those of you who are already my brothers and sisters
in Christ around the world, I urge you to be faithful
unto death, for Jesus himself said, "Do not fear
any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the
devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you
may be tested.. .. Be faithful until death, and
I will give you the crown of life."
  "What a promise! Christ himself will give
you the crown of life It shall be a thrill to see
Jesus come yet again, but oh, what a privilege
to die for his sake."
  Judd sat on a rock and thought about Mark. He
had earned the crown of life! Even now he
could be in the presence of Jesus, worshiping and
praising God. Judd missed the next few
moments of Tsion's message, then focused on the
man's words as he spoke of things to come.
  "Now I must tell you there is also bad news,"
Tsion said. "The wrath of the evil one will reach a
fever pitch from now until the end. There will be
increasing demands for all people to worship him and take his
mark. To you who share my faith and are willing to be
faithful unto death, remember the promise in
James 5:8 that "the coming of the Lord is at hand."
  "Oh, believer, share your faith and live your
life boldly in such a way that others can receive
Christ by faith and be saved. Think of it, friend. You
could pray to be led to those who have not yet heard the
truth. You may be the one who leads the very last soul
to Christ.
  "Second Peter 3:10-14 says that "the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the
heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with
fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be
burned up.
  was Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought you to be in
holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the
coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with
fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells.
  was 'Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things,
be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot
and blameless."
  "I urge you to imitate our Lord and Savior and
say with him, "I must be about My Father's
business.""
  As Tsion continued, Judd felt a new
resolve to serve God. No matter what it cost
him, no matter where he had to go, he wanted to be
about God's business.
  Tsion urged viewers to visit his Web site for
more information and to decide for Christ. "The most
wonderful news I can share with you today is that God
has prompted us to use the brilliant minds and
technology we have been blessed with here. Anyone who
communicates with us via the
Internet will get a personal response with everything
you need to know about how to receive Christ.
  "Yes, I know the ruler of this world has
outlawed even visiting our site, but we can assure
you that it is secure and that your visit cannot be traced.
We have thousands of Internet counselors who can
answer any question and lead you to Christ.
  "We also have teams of rescuers who can
transport you here if you are being persecuted for the
sake of Christ. This is a dangerous time, and many will
be killed. Many of our own loved ones have lost their
lives in the pursuit of righteousness. But we will do
what we can until the end to keep fighting for what is
right. For in the end, we win, and we will be with
Jesus."
  Tsion's words warmed Judd's heart, and as he
walked home he prayed for the people who would see the
broadcast and who hadn't accepted the mark of
Carpathia. He believed everything Tsion had said, but
there was still an ache in his heart about Mark.
  Lionel saw Judd a few days after Tsion had
spoken and called him over. "You don't think
Mark's death is your fault, do you?"
Judd winced. "I know I couldn't have done anything
to save him, but I don't understand why he was so
stupid."
  "He saved the others. That wasn't stupid."
  "Not that. The way Mark was, going with the
militia, doing stuff without thinking about the
consequences."
  "You mean you're upset because he was so much like you?"
Lionel said.
  Judd stared at him.
  "I'm serious," Lionel said. "Mark was always
doing stuff without talking with others, getting an idea
and running with it. Sometimes it worked out. Sometimes it
didn't."
  Judd shook his head. "Maybe I'm mad because
he didn't change."
  "And maybe this whole Baghdad thing-- that you
didn't get to go with Captain Steele-- has
something to do--"
  "It's not that," Judd snapped. He turned
away and looked at a row of screens with people typing
messages. "You know what really ticks me off?
That God let it happen in the first place."
  "Okay, so that's who you're really mad at."
  "Why does he allow his followers to die like that?
Thousands have been executed by the GC. Thousands! And
God just sits there or stands or whatever."
"Remember when my uncle Andre died?" Lionel
said. "I thought I had a good chance to tell him the
truth. I was ticked off at God for a
long time about that." "How'd you resolve it?"
Lionel scratched his head and patted the stump of his
left arm. "Same way I resolved this. There are
some things I'm just not going to understand. God lets some
things happen that don't make sense, at least to me.
But I guess part of faith is believing that God
is still on the throne and that none of this is taking him
by surprise." Judd sat and heaved a sigh. "When
I was little one of my uncles died. He was a strong
Christian and used to take me on sailing trips
on Lake Michigan. I couldn't understand how God
could let such a good guy get cancer and die. I still
don't see any sense in it, even though I
believe God's there and really does care."
  "I like to think that God was so near to Mark at the
end," Lionel said, "that Mark could have gone through
anything. It's clear from the communication from Fulcire
that Mark didn't give them a thing."
  "Though the reporters said he blabbed
  everything."
  Lionel clicked on the computer and pulled up
messages from readers to Tsion Ben
Judah's Web site. Tsion had allowed
Lionel and the others to put a section for the Young
Trib Force there, and Vicki had written
a tribute to Mark.
  "Mark worked so hard on different parts of the Web
site," Lionel said, "and there are people who are
believers today because of what he did. And if he were
here right now, I think he'd want us to keep doing
everything we can to reach out to people."
  "That's my goal too, but there's something else
that's come up since his death."
  "What's that?"
  Judd lowered his voice. "Vicki and I want
to be in Jerusalem when the final war starts."
  "You're crazy."
  "We want to make life miserable for those GC
troops that'll try to overrun the city and then be there
when Jesus comes back and wins the battle with only
a few words."
  "You're both going to get killed."
  "So, if that's what God wants ..."
  "Don't let your anger at Fulcire and his
goons make you go off the deep end. When the GC
get here, they're going to unleash everything they have. If
you're in the way--"
  "I have to be in the way," Judd snapped.
  Lionel rubbed his neck. "You haven't seen the
video from Baghdad yet, have you?"
"I wasn't invited to see it."
  Lionel caught Chang's attention and asked if
he could show Judd a clip of the conference. Chang showed
Lionel where to find the file, and Lionel pulled
it up on the screen. "This is the creepiest thing
I've seen from Carpathia. And if he's going to be
in Jerusalem when the end comes, it's one place I
don't want to be, and I don't want you to be.
I hope seeing this will help you change your mind.
If Vicki's going with you--"
  "Just show me the video," Judd said.
  "All right, but let me set it up. Captain
Steele and the others put bugs in the conference room
where they knew Nicolae and his cabinet would meet.
Before his heads of state got there, Carpathia hinted
to his top people that something big was up."
  "More beheadings of believers?"
  "No, though that's happening. He said he wanted
to introduce his people to a trio who would help
accomplish their goals. Leon Fortunato and the
others begged to hear more, but Carpathia wouldn't tell
them. Then when they had their big meeting... well,
let me just show you." Lionel fast-forwarded the
video. "I'm showing you this so you know what kind of
evil you're dealing with. Are you ready?"
  Judd nodded and prepared himself for the worst.


  TWELVE
  THE EVIL TRIO
  VICKI walked into the tech center and spotted
Judd looking over Lionel's shoulder. Judd still
hadn't been able to talk much about Mark, but she was
trying to be patient.
  "Hello, Mrs. Thompson," Chang said with a
smile.
  Vicki couldn't get used to hearing the words Mrs.
Thompson. It made her feel old. "Please
call me Vicki."
  Judd waved Vicki over and explained what they
were watching. He seemed more excited than he had for
days as he told her what was happening on the
screen. Lionel started the video over, and
Vicki stared at the surprisingly clear footage.
  Vicki had seen news reports about the arrival
of the ten regional potentates to Baghdad and the
resulting parades, light shows,
and stage shows performed in their honor. Stands filled
with people cheered each regional potentate. It was more
than Vicki could stand to watch the unholy mockery.
Leon Fortunato had introduced Nicolae, and the
crowd had interrupted him many times with huge
ovations. Most chilling was Carpathia's pledge
to eliminate those who opposed peace, as he put it,
within half a year. Interesting timing, Vicki thought.
"This meeting took place the morning after
Carpathia's big speech about killing their
enemies," Lionel said. "Nobody saw this
except for the people in that room in Baghdad and those who were
handpicked by Rayford Steele here in Petra."
"Amazing," Vicki said as she studied the video.
She saw a nervous Leon Fortunato and several
potentates, including the one from the United North
American States. She also noticed Suhail
Akbar, chief of Security and
  Intelligence.
  "You can see they're each wearing clothing from their
region," Judd said, pointing to the African and
South American potentates who wore colorful
outfits.
  "Who are those three?" Vicki said. "They
  look like statues."
  Lionel nodded. "Just wait. You'll see." The
three didn't move an inch. They
seemed to be staring at the wall in front of them and
didn't even react when Carpathia walked into the
room.
  Vicki shuddered. "They give me the creeps."
  "Let me jump to the place where Carpathia
begins." Lionel found the spot, and Judd
scooted a chair close so Vicki could sit.
  Nicolae thanked the group for coming and told them
he was the boss. He reminded them that three
potentates from the group had died untimely deaths.
His message was dear: Either follow me or die.
  "Questions?" Nicolae said. "I thought not. Let us
proceed."
  "This is where it gets good," Lionel said. "I
mean, not good, but... you know what I mean."
  "Ladies and gentlemen," Carpathia said, "the
time has come for me to take you into my confidence. We
must all be on the same page in order to win the
ultimate battle. Look into my eyes and listen,
because what you hear today is truth and you will have no trouble
believing every word of it. I am eternal. I am from
everlasting to everlasting. I was there at the beginning, and I
will remain through eternity future."
  Nicolae stood and began to slowly circle the
table.
"It's as if they're in a trance," Vicki said.
"Like they're scared to even look at him."
  "Here is the problem," Carpathia
continued. "The one who calls himself God is not
God. I will concede that he preceded me. When I
evolved out of the primordial ooze and water, he was
already there. But plainly, he had come about in the same
manner I did. Simply because he preceded me,
he wanted me to think he created me and all the other
beings like him in the vast heavens. I knew better.
Many of us did."
  Vicki looked at Judd and shook her head.
"I can't believe he's really saying this."
  Carpathia talked as if he were explaining a math
problem to a group of second graders. "He tried
to tell us we were created as ministering servants. We
had a job to do. He said he had created humans in
his own image and that we were to serve them. Had I been
there first, I could have told him that I had created him
and that it was he who would serve me by ministering to my other
creations.
  "But he did not create anything! We, all of
us--you, me, the other heavenly hosts, men and women--
all came from that same primordial soup. But no!
Not according to him! He was there with another evolved being like
myself, and he claimed that one as
his favored son. He was the special one, the chosen
one, the only begotten one.
  "I knew from the beginning it was a lie and that I--
all of us--was being used. I was a bright and shining
angel. I had ambition. I had ideas. But that was
threatening to the older one. He called himself the
creator God, the originator of life. He
took the favored position. He demanded that the whole
earth worship and obey him. I had the audacity
to ask why. Why not me?"
  "Because you're the father of lies," Judd said under his
breath.
  Carpathia admitted he had started a
rebellion against God. "About a third of the other
evolved beings agreed with me and took my side,
promised to remain loyal. The other two-thirds were
weaklings, easily swayed. They took the side of the
so-called father and his so-called son."
  "Is he talking about the angels?" Judd said.
  "He has to be," Vicki said. "In
Revelation it talks about a third of the stars being cast
down to earth with Lucifer."
  Carpathia continued, saying he would go back
to heaven where he was before he was cast out. "We have been
mortal enemies ever since, that father and that son and
I. He even persuaded the evolved humans that he
created them! But that could not be true, because if
he had, they would not have free will. And if he created
me, I would not have been able to rebel. It only
makes sense.
  "Once I figured that out, I began enjoying my
role as the outcast. I found humans, the ones he
liked to call his own, the easiest to sway. The
woman with the fruit! She did not want to obey. It
took nothing, mere suggestion, to get her to do what
she really wanted. That happened not far from right here,
by the way."
  Carpathia walked around the group, lecturing them
and giving his spin on the Bible. This was the gospel of the
Antichrist, and the people in the room seemed to drink it
in.
  "And the first human siblings--they were easy! The
younger was devoted to the one who called himself the only
true God, but the other ... ah, the other wanted
only what, I wanted. A little something for himself.
Before you know it, I am proving beyond doubt that these
creatures are not really products of the older
angel's creativity. Within a few generations I have
them so confused, so selfish, so full of themselves that the
old man no longer wants to claim they were made in
his image. "They get drunk; they fight; they
blaspheme. They are stubborn; they are
unfaithful.
They kill each other. The only ones I cannot get
through to are Noah and his kin. Of course, the great
creator decides the rest of history depends on
them and wipes out everyone else with a flood. I
eventually got to Noah, but he had already started
repopulating the earth.
  "Yes, I will admit it. The father and the son have
been formidable foes over the generations. They have their
favorites--the Jews, of all people. The Jews are
the apples of the elder's eye, but therein lies his
weakness. He has such a soft spot for them that they will
be his undoing.
  "My forces and I almost had them wiped out not so many
generations ago, but father and son intervened, gave them
back their own land, and foiled us again. Fate has
toyed with us many times, my friends, but in the end we shall
prevail.
  "Father and son thought they were doing the world a favor
by putting their intentions in writing. The whole plan
is there, from sending the son to die and resurrect--which
I proved I could do as well--to foretelling this
entire period. Yes, many millions bought into this
great lie. Up to now I would have to acknowledge that the
other side has had the advantage.
"But two great truths will be their undoing. First, I
know the truth. They are not greater or better than I
or anyone else. They came from the same place
we all did. And second, they must not have realized
that I can read. I read their book! I know what they
are up to! I know what happens next, and I
even know where!
  "Let them turn the lights off in the great city that
I loved so much! Ah, how beautiful it was when it was
the center for commerce and government, and the great ships and
planes brought in goods from all over the globe. So
it is dark now. And so what if it is eventually
destroyed? I will build it back up, because I am
more powerful than father and son combined.
  "Let them shake the earth until it is level and
drop hundred-pound chunks of ice from the skies.
I will win in the end because I have read their battle
plan. The old man plans to send the son to set
up the kingdom he predicted more than three hundred
times in his book, and he even tells where he will land!
Ladies and gentlemen, we will have a surprise
waiting for him."
  Lionel stopped the recording. "See what I
mean?"
  "He actually thinks he can beat
God," Judd said. "Incredible."
Lionel went forward on the recording and hit
Play.
  "We rally everyone--all of our tanks and
planes and weapons and armies--in the Plain of
Megiddo," Nicolae said. "It is in the Plain
of Esdraelon in northern Israel, about twenty
miles southeast of Haifa and sixty miles north
of Jerusalem. At the appointed time we will dispatch
one-third of our forces to overrun the stronghold at
Petra.
  "The rest of our forces will march on the so-called
Eternal City and blast through those infernal walls,
destroying all the Jews. And that is where we shall be,
joined by our victorious forces from Petra, in full
force to surprise the son when he arrives."
  Vicki sat, stunned at the shameless way
Nicolae was talking about Jesus.
  Carpathia's next plan was to use the nuclear
weapons stored at Al Hillah. "Needless
to say, we do not want or need to destroy the
planet. We simply want your soldiers to have more
than what they need to wipe out the Jews and destroy
the son I have so long opposed. So once I tell
you how we will get your military leaders on
board, your next assignment will be to get them to Al
Hillah, where our Security and Intelligence
director, Mr. Suhail Akbar, will see that they are more than
fully equipped."
  When the Russian potentate asked how
to persuade troops that were discouraged, sick, and
injured, Nicolae rose. "The time has come
to introduce you to three of my most trusted aides.
No doubt you have been wondering about the three at the
end of the table."
  "Wondering why they seem not to have so much as blinked
since we sat down," the British potentate said.
  Carpathia laughed. "These three are not of this world.
They use these shells only when necessary. Indeed, these
are spirit beings who have been with me from the beginning. They were
among the first who believed in me and saw the lie the
father and son were trying to perpetrate in heaven and on
earth."
  Nicolae and Leon walked to the end of the table.
  Lionel sat straight in his chair. "I hope
you two have strong stomachs."
  "What's going to happen?" Judd said.
  "Wait a minute," Vicki said. "Revelation
says something about this."
  Lionel smiled. "Chapter 16, verses 13
and 14. Good job, Vicki. Dr. Ben-Judah
recognized it the first time he saw it too."
  "What's that say?" Judd asked.
  Lionel stopped the video and pulled up
the verses. ""And I saw three unclean spirits like
frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they
are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty.""
  Lionel started the video again.
  Nicolae and Leon leaned toward the robodike
creatures and opened their mouths. Out came ugly,
slimy, froglike beasts that leaped into the mouths of the
three, one from Leon and two from Nicolae.
  The three creatures suddenly opened their eyes
wide and looked around the room. A camera angle
switched, showing their faces, and the three sat back,
smiling and nodding to the potentates around the table.
  "Please meet Ashtaroth, Baal, and
Cankerworm. They are the most convincing and
persuasive spirits it has ever been my pleasure
to know. I am going to ask now that we, all
of us, gather round them and lay hands on them,
commissioning them for this momentous task."
  "This is so sick," Vicki said.
  "Everything Carpathia does mocks God,"
Judd said.
With the potentates and the others touching the three,
Nicolae said, "And now go, you three, to the ends of the
earth to gather them to the final conflict in Jerusalem,
where we shall once and for all destroy the father and his
so-called Messiah. Persuade everyone everywhere that
the victory is ours, that we are right, and that together we
can destroy the son before he takes over this world.
Once he is gone, we will be the undisputed,
unopposed leaders of the world. "I confer upon you the power
to perform signs and heal the sick and raise the dead,
if need be, to convince the world that victory is ours.
And now go in power...."
  A huge bolt of lightning flashed on-screen,
and the recording went black. When the image
returned, Ashtaroth, Baal, and Cankerworm were
gone, and Lionel quickly turned the volume down
before a noisy peal of thunder erupted.
  Nicolae beamed at his audience. Vicki
wondered if showing this video would convince some people who
Nicolae really was, but she knew most
of the world was blind to the truth.
  "Farewell, one and all," Nicolae said. "I
will see you in six months in the Plain of Megiddo
on that great day when victory shall be in sight."
Vicki shuddered as Judd muttered, "I'll be
there, Nicky. And I'll see you thrown into hell."


  THIRTEEN
  Tribulation Christmas
  OVER the next several weeks, Judd noticed
a flurry of activity in Petra. Nicolae's
war plans were in full effect, and his persecution
increased. There were more beheadings and more torture of
prisoners, and the hunt for Judah-ites continued.
News had come of a GC raid in France. A
chateau filled with suspected Judah-ites had
been discovered, and all the occupants had been
beheaded.
  Darrion and the others in Illinois wrote that they
had moved with Lenore into a hiding place run by a
man who had been discovered by Chloe Williams.
  "His name is Enoch Dumas," Darrion said
over a scratchy phone line. "He was head of a
group living in downtown Chicago. That's where
Chloe found them and then brought them into the Strong
Building."
  "Where are they now?" Judd said.
"They split up after they left the Strong
Building. Now Enoch and a bunch of his friends are here
in Palos Hills. It's a pretty rough group.
Lots of former prostitutes and druggies. Sweet
people, actually. They know what it means to be forgiven."
  Judd explained the persecution they had seen over
the past few weeks. "Is it safe there?"
  "We're in the basement of an abandoned house.
Others are scattered through the neighborhood. There
are more than seventy, and Enoch says we'll
probably reach a hundred before Jesus comes
back."
  "You should be careful of newcomers. Never know what
the GC will try."
  "I know, but what can we do, turn them away? People
actually go out and try to find more converts every day. Enoch
says we're trying to "get more drowning people onto
the life raft.""
  "Do you have meetings?"
  Darrion chuckled. "Yeah, and they're nothing like
the Young Trib Force meetings. People come in here, sing,
and tell their stories. One man yesterday told how
he had kept from taking Carpathia's mark. Not because
he was a believer--he was just scared of
getting a disease through the tattoo. His name is
Adrian, and a GC
Peacekeeper found him one day in a stairwell of
some old apartment building. Before the Peacekeeper could
react, Adrian hit him over the head with a pipe.
Knocked him out cold."
  "What did Adrian do then?"
  "He went through the Peacekeeper's pockets
looking for Nicks or food. You have to understand what
it's like on the streets now. There's so much crime,
but the GC only seems to be interested in getting people
without Carpathia's mark."
  "They don't report it on GCNN, but we've
heard how bad it's getting."
  "Well, guess what Adrian finds in the
Peacekeeper's pocket? A pamphlet explaining
the gospel. We think the Peacekeeper found it in
some church or on a believer. Anyway, this
Carpathia follower was actually a missionary because
Adrian took the pamphlet, read it, and gave his
heart to God."
  "Incredible."
  "He was so glad to find our group, not just because we
have food and can give him protection, but to be near
other believers. He didn't know he had
the mark of the believer until he got here."
Darion told him more stories, and Judd asked about
Shelly, Conrad, and the others.
  "We're doing pretty well. Mark's death
shook all of us. I don't know that any of us have
gotten over it."
  "I know the feeling," Judd said. "But we'll
see him again. You know that."
  "I can't wait to see my mom and dad and Ryan
Daley too."
  The mention of Ryan took Judd's breath
away.
  When he hung up with Darion he went outside
and watched people gather their evening meal. It had been
years since Ryan had been with them. He had
missed so much of the Tribulation. What would Ryan be
like when they saw him again? Would they really be able
to recognize him? Would he be the same age as when
he died, or would God somehow change his body to be
older but still recognizable?
  No matter what Ryan looked like--or Mark
or Pete or John or the others who had died--
Judd knew there was a great reunion ahead.
^
  Vicki stayed busy over the weeks becoming an
Internet counselor for young people. After
intense sessions with the elders, Chang Wong, and
Naomi Tiberius, Vicki took her place beside
people of all nationalities who answered questions from around the
world. She was excited that some of those she counseled were
actually airlifted into Petra by Trib Force
pilots.
  Vicki knew the suffering and persecution would end,
but as she heard the stories of hurting and wounded people,
she longed for the return of Jesus even more. She
couldn't wait to see him and hear his voice. She
knew from reading the Scriptures that there were more
prophecies concerning Jesus' second coming than his
first. And this time he wouldn't come as the lowly, humble
servant but as the mighty, conquering king ready to defeat
his enemies. Vicki was amazed to see the questions that
came into the Web site. She even received one from a
woman who was clearly not interested in knowing God but
in finding out when the plague of darkness would be lifted
from New Babylon.
  "How could she believe that we have answers from the
Bible but not believe the truth about God?" Vicki
asked Judd as they ate one night.
  "She's blind," Judd said. "These people
know there's something to the claims of the Bible, but they
follow Carpathia anyway. Those troops
know how many soldiers God wiped out, but they still
follow orders."
  There was a slight knock on the door, and Judd
opened it to find Sam Goldberg. Sam sat and had
some wafers and quail. Judd and Vicki had been
secretly talking with him about a possible trip
to Israel before the start of the last great battle.
  "Have you found anyone yet?" Judd asked.
  "My friend Lev Taubman is from Jerusalem,"
Sam said quietly. "He wants to go back there
badly, but his mother won't hear of it."
  "Does he know any hiding places, any
members of the resistance?" Vicki said.
  "There is a man my father was acquainted with,"
Sam said. "Very old. His name is Shivte. Lev
says he and his sons would never take the mark of
Carpathia, but they are not believers either."
  "You think they're still in Jerusalem?"
  "Lev is sure of it because he received a message
from another friend saying Shivte's wife has become
a true believer. And with what I hear about..."
Sam stopped and stared at them.
  "What is it?" Vicki said.
  "I'm not sure I should tell you what I heard
about Dr. Ben-Judah."
"What, that he's teaching an elite group of
Captain Steele's military people?" Judd said.
"We know that."
  "Did you know he has officially turned over his
administrative and teaching duties for Petra
to Dr. Rosenzweig?" Sam said.
  "What?" Judd and Vicki said in unison.
  "I can't tell you where I heard this, but I
believe Tsion wants to be part of the fighting force in
Jerusalem. He's been training to use a
weapon."
  "I don't believe it," Vicki said.
  Sam leaned closer. "This is what I have heard.
Tsion believes the Bible teaches that a third of the
remaining Jews will turn to Messiah before the end.
That means that many will still need to be reached, and Tsion
thinks if he can get to Jerusalem, he can reach
them."
  Judd scratched the stubble of his beard. "It
makes sense, I guess."
  "Now I don't feel so bad wanting to get
to Jerusalem to see Jesus return," Vicki
said.
  "Where does Tsion get that more Jews will come
to Messiah?" Judd said.
  "It's in Zechariah 13. Verses 8 and 9."
  Vicki grabbed a Bible, flipped toward the end
of the Old Testament. ""And it shall come to pass if
all the land," says the Lord,
"That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but
one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third
through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined,
and test them as gold is tested. They will call on
My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is
My people"; and each one will say, The Lord is my
God."""
  As Vicki read the verses, something stirred
inside her. If there were more Jews who would accept
Jesus as Messiah, they had to be hiding. If
she and Judd could help find them and prepare them in
some way for the message . . . She looked at
Judd and could tell he was thinking the same thing.
^
  Lionel ate breakfast with Zeke Zuckermandel
at least once a week and caught up on the latest
with the Tribulation Force. Zeke was fun to talk with,
and the two relived their days in Illinois and
Wisconsin.
  "You about ready to come out of that place with all the
fancy computers and get yourself dirty?" Zeke said.
  "What do you mean?" Lionel said.
  "Just that I'm getting a band of people together to help out
during the war."
  "Tell me about it."
Zeke leaned forward and drew a finger through the sand.
"This here is Petra with all the rocks and stuff.
Here's the desert in front of us and around us, and all
the way over here is Israel. Now, most people are
mixed up about the Battle of Armageddon."
  "How so?"
  "This comes straight from Tsion himself. This valley of
Armageddon is really just the staging area for
Carpathia's armies. You know, where they set up,
eat, prepare, that kinda thing. The actual wars are
gonna take place here at Petra--" he
pointed to the circle in the sand--"although you have to believe
God won't let the armies have a victory here, and
over here in Jerusalem. Tsion says people should call
this "the War of the Great Day of God the
Almighty." But I can see how sayin' it's
Armageddon's just plain easier." "I'm still confused
about what's going to happen when," Lionel said.
  "Tsion says there are going to be something like eight
things happening after the Euphrates River goes
dry."
  "What's so important about that?"
  "Well, you ever see an army try to get across a
river that's running? When it dries up, the kings and
armies east of here will have a clear shot at us. They
can come into
this valley--it's called Megiddo--and be ready for the
trap."
  "What trap?"
  "Well, Tsion says this is exactly what
God wants. It'll look like there's no way
anyone can stand up to the strength of all those tanks and
missiles and troops, but God's gonna zap
"em."
  "What else happens?"
  "Once the river goes dry and the armies get
together, Babylon will be destroyed. God's gonna
do that real quick, and then comes the fall of Jerusalem.
I'm kinda hazy about how that happens, but finally
Jesus will appear on a white horse with a big
army of his own. He'll be mad at old
Nicolae, and there's gonna be a lot of blood,
you can bet on that. There's gonna be a battle
close to here, though Petra will be safe. And then
Jesus will show up at the Mount of Olives."
"Wish I could be there," Lionel said.
  "You and me both. But there's plenty to do
here. As a matter of fact, I'm looking for some
volunteers."
  "Is this the getting myself dirty part?"
  Zeke smiled. "You got it. I need people to go out
and pick up weapons, uniforms, ammo--just about
anything you think we could use."
  "Sounds dangerous."
"Could be. But my guess is the GC won't have
any power over believers who are living here in
Petra. God's gonna protect us." "You
don't know that for sure." "Right. Not 100 percent,
but I'm willing to chance it. How about you?"
^
  Judd went to the airstrip in late December and
met with Mac McCullum. Mac, Abdullah
Smith, and Ree Woo had become the main pilots
for the Tribulation Force, and they had recruited other
pilots to help fly believers to Petra from all
over the world. Mac had tons of stories of
miraculous things God had done to keep believers
safe, but this was a short meeting.
  "Found what you were looking for in Morocco," Mac
said, handing Judd a small box. "Hope the little
lady enjoys it."
  Judd thanked him and raced back to their empty
house. Vicki had finished her work at the
tech center for the day and was spending some time with little
Kenny.
  Judd quickly went behind their house to a rock
outcropping where he had seen a small bush. After
he dug the plant up by its roots and put it in a
pot, he placed it on the nightstand. He cut
strips of cloth and draped
them around the bush, then set the wrapped box on one
of the sturdy branches.
  He watched for Vicki for nearly an hour. When
he saw her coming, he hid in a corner of the room and
waited.
  "Judd?" Vicki called as she came close.
"Mr. Thompson? Are you home?" She walked
inside and saw the bush. "What in the world?"
  Judd started humming a Christmas tune.
  Vicki caught her breath. "What's going on?"
  "Just because we're in the middle of the Tribulation
doesn't mean we can't celebrate, right?"
  "It's December 25th! I forgot all about
it."
  Judd pointed at the tiny, crudely wrapped
present in the bush. Vicki just stared at it, her
mouth open. Judd handed her the box and she opened it
slowly, the fading sunlight twinkling off the
stone in the middle of the ring.
  She couldn't say anything for a moment. Then, "It
must have cost a fortune."
  "I didn't have a chance to get you a ring when we were
married. Mac found a jeweler on one of his
flights, and he got a bargain. The jeweler thinks
it'll last at least a thousand years."
  Vicki smiled. "I hope we get to find out
if he's right."


  FOURTEEN
  To Jerusalem
  LIONEL awoke from another nightmare and wiped
sweat from his forehead. On some nights he dreamed about
dogs chasing him, barking and biting at something trapped
under a rock. Other nights Lionel dreamed of a
dragon chasing his friends toward a cliff. At the
edge of the cliff was a huge army.
  This time he had dreamed of Judd and Vicki being
caught by the Global Community. He knew it had
something to do with their leaving the day before. Lionel had
promised he wouldn't say anything to Chang or
anyone else about their secret departure. Judd
had been sure Captain Steele would have stopped
them.
  When Judd had discovered that Westin
Jakes, Z-Van's former pilot, had caught
an airlift out of the desert near New Babylon
and was again flying for the Tribulation Force, Judd had
asked a favor. Lionel had seen them off to the
airstrip and waved goodbye, not knowing if he would ever
see his friends again.
  Lionel got a glass of water and looked out the
screenless window at the lightening sky. The sight of
Petra in the morning never ceased to move him. The
red-rocked city seemed to glow at both sunup and
sundown.
  Lionel quietly went to the tech center. He
kept in contact with his friends in Illinois and
e-mailed a new friend in New Babylon, of all
places. Through Tsion's Web site Lionel had
met a young German woman named Steffi. She was
with a group that had stayed in the still-darkened city. She
reported that nothing much had changed. People were still
screaming and chewing their tongues, and the believers were able
to move through the city undetected. Lionel, is there
a way I could call your phone and talk about our
airlift out of here? Steffi wrote. I know that our
main connection is through Otto Weser and you
probably don't have much to do with that, but it would calm
my nerves if I could talk.
  Lionel wrote back, giving Steffi a number
and a time. As soon as he sent the message, another
message popped up.
Lionel,
  We finally made it to Shivte's house a little after
four this morning and wanted you to know we're okay.
We're supposed to meet with some of the resistance
fighters later.
  The flight out of Petra was a little scary, but
Westin found the landing strip. Then we hooked up with
one of Shivte's sons and made the drive
into Jerusalem without being spotted by the GC.
  Westin told us the most amazing story about getting
out of New Babylon. He and his friends found an
abandoned terrorist training camp and holed up therefor
a while. Westin got a flight out through the Trib
Force, but Judd's friend Zvi and some of the others
decided to go back into New Babylon.
  Thanks for praying for us, and don't worry.
We're not planning to do any fighting, just trying
to reach out to Jewish people who haven't accepted their
Messiah.
  Take care and we'll call you soon.
  Love, Vicki
  Lionel shook his head. Most people would
try to stay as safe as they could during the
final battle. But after all Judd and Vicki had
been through, they still wanted to reach people with the message of
God's love and forgiveness.
^
  Judd shook hands with Shivte in the dimly lit
home and introduced Vicki. The elderly man
shuffled to the kitchen table of their small home. He
and his sons were stocky men and soft-spoken. None of
them had the mark of the believer.
  Shivte asked one of his sons to get his wife,
then motioned for Judd and Vicki to sit. "You should
know that it was my wife who arranged this," he said.
"And I only agreed to help you come here on the
condition that you would not try to get us to change our
beliefs."
  Judd pursed his lips. "As I wrote from
Petra, we don't want to get in the way. We
just want to support the resistance effort in any way
we can."
  "My son will show you to one of the underground
hideouts," Shivte said. "There are military people
there who can show you what is needed."
  Shivte offered them some meager rations, which Judd and
Vicki politely refused. "We
brought some supplies with us," Judd said.
"It would please us if you would take them."
  Shivte nodded. "We're grateful."
  Shivte's wife came through the doorway,
smiling. She was a large woman with heavy lines in
her face, and Judd thought she looked a lot like his
grandmother. When she spotted the mark of the believer on
their foreheads, Judd thought she would weep. She
hugged them both and thanked them for bringing food.
  "How I would have liked to have experienced Petra,
if only for a few days," the woman said. "I can
only imagine the teaching and fellowship you enjoyed
there." She glanced at her husband. "But there are more
pressing matters here. You can see that I have not yet
convinced the most important people in my life of the
truth."
  Shivte stood and waved a hand at her. "I'm not
staying to hear this."
  "Will you go get the people now?" she said.
  Shivte nodded and left the house.
  "Who is he going to get?" Judd said.
  "You'll see," Shivte's wife said.
  "How did you become a believer?" Vicki said.
  "I didn't plan on it," she said. "My
husband and sons said they would not take
Carpathia's mark, but we had to have food.
So I volunteered to take it so I could buy and
sell. The idea of worshiping that statue . . .
well, I couldn't imagine it, but we had
to survive."
  "How close did you come to taking it?" Judd
said.
  "I was at the Temple Mount, in line. I thought
it was the only way to save my family. But then I
saw a disturbance and slipped out of line. A man of
God was shot-- his name was Micah--but the bullets
didn't kill him. After that, I had to know more about this
message. I have a young friend, the one who wrote your
friend Sam, and he helped me find Tsion
Ben-Judah's Web site."
  "And your husband and sons?" Vicki said.
  "We have agreed not to talk about it. They are
devout Jews, and they will resist Carpathia to the
end, but they are not ready for Messiah. How I
pray for them every day that somehow the message will get
through."
  Footsteps sounded on the street outside.
Shivte's wife stood and motioned for Judd and
Vicki to follow her to the door. "I was talking with a
friend about you two and where you would stay. We have very little
room here. One conversation led to another, and
finally I discovered that--"
  The door opened and a man and a woman
walked through. In the dim light, Judd couldn't see
their faces. When they moved closer, his mouth
dropped open. "I don't believe it!"
  The two hugged Judd tightly and wept. Judd
turned to Vicki. "Remember Nada and Kasim?
These are their parents, Jamal and Lina Ameer."
  Lina reached out and hugged Vicki. "So this is the
person Judd was in love with. You're very beautiful,
my dear."
  Vicki blushed. "I'm very sorry about your son
and daughter. Our group back in the States prayed
for you almost every day."
  "We appreciate that more than you can know,"
Jamal said.
  "We couldn't believe it when we heard you were
coming," Lina said. "We'd love to hear what God
has done since we last talked. How is
Lionel?"
  They sat at the table and Judd explained about
Lionel's injury and how they had gotten back to the
States. The two were saddened to hear about Lionel's
arm but were glad he was safe in Petra.
  Judd asked if they knew anything about
the rebel fighters, and Jamal pulled out a crude
map. "There are underground tunnels through here. Many people
have hidden in
them since the GC took over. We have weapons and
ammunition, even some computers to help us track the
movement of the GC One World Unity Army's
troops. We can go through there as we head to our
apartment. You will stay with us."
  Shivte closed the door quietly and put a
finger to his lips. "We must hide. The GC are
going house to house down the street."
  Judd and Vicki followed the others to a hiding
place under the stairs.
  "Does this happen often?" Vicki whispered
to Jamal.
  "All the time," Jamal said.
^
  Lionel took Steffi's call and listened to her
story. It was much like others he had heard from people who
had already come out of New Babylon. Her father
wanted to be in Carpathia's city to fulfill
prophecy, but things had become so horrible there with the
plague of darkness that Steffi couldn't imagine staying
any longer.
  "Fortunately, I think you'll be out of there
pretty soon," Lionel said. "The
seven-year anniversary of Carpathia's peace
treaty with Israel is coming up in only a few
days."
  "I've longed for the coming of Jesus," Steffi
said. "I've been afraid the plague of darkness will
lift and the GC will catch my father."
  "Does he spend a lot of time in GC areas?"
Lionel said.
  "The palace, the prison--wherever he thinks he
can find information or a possible person who doesn't
have the mark of the believer. I've told him he should be
more careful...."
  Lionel pulled the phone away from his ear.
Something odd was happening in Chang Wong's area.
"Hang on a second, Steffi."
  Chang was standing and pointing to his computer screen.
"It's happened!"
  Others came running.
  "What's happened?" Lionel said, but Chang
didn't hear him.
  "What's going on?" Steffi said.
  "It might be something with the Euphrates River,"
Lionel said. "Chang's been watching sensors
planted there by the GC--"
  Before Lionel could finish his sentence,
Chang turned to Naomi Tiberius and said, "There
was water in the Euphrates a minute ago, and now
it is dry as a bone. You can bet tomorrow it will be on the
news--someone standing in the dry, cracking riverbed,
showing that you can walk across without fear of mud or
quicksand."
"That is amazing," Naomi said. "I mean, I
knew it was coming, but isn't it just like God to do it all
at once? And isn't that a 1,500mile river?"
  "It used to be."
  Lionel explained what he had heard to Steffi,
and she gave an excited shout. "This means the
Lord's return is that much closer."
  Lionel finished the conversation and joined Chang and the
others.
  Later a Trib Force scout plane reported
vast weapons and troop movement toward the dried-up
river. Lionel figured Carpathia had been
reading the Bible but was too stupid to understand how the
book ended.
^
  Vicki was excited about Jamal and Lina's
spacious apartment. The two offered to give Judd and
Vicki their bedroom, but instead they put down
sleeping bags from Petra in the living room.
  The next few weeks Judd and
Vicki spent time getting to know the complex series of
passageways underneath Jerusalem. It would be their
job to supply ammunition to the rebel forces seeking
to keep the GC away.
  "We respect your wish to not be involved in the
actual fighting," Jamal said, "but your
job will be just as critical to defending Jerusalem."
  After dinner one evening, Lina showed Vicki
pictures of their family and pointed out Kasim and
Nada. "I miss them both very much, but it won't be
long before we're together again."
  "It might be sooner than we think," Jamal
said. "Judd just showed me an intercepted message
from a top Global Community officer."
  "What did it say?" Vicki said.
  "Basically, it warned all Peacekeepers and
Morale Monitors throughout the world to prepare for a
new assignment in the Middle East. We think it
will only be a few days before hundreds of thousands
join the GC One World Unity Army."
  "Which means people without Carpathia's mark will be able
to come out of hiding," Vicki said.
  "As long as they're careful," Judd said.
"Citizens can still kill people without the mark and get a
reward. But it looks like the end is
close."
^
  Lionel was talking with Sam Goldberg when he
noticed Rayford Steele running toward the
helipad. Lionel and Sam walked to a rock
outcropping as droves of people headed for a clearing.
  "What's going on?" Lionel said.
  "Maybe it's the evacuation of New
Babylon," Sam said. "I heard that pilots from
here will fly the rescue mission as soon as word comes
that believers are to move out."
  "They'd need something bigger than a helicopter,
don't you think?" Lionel said.
  Many people near the chopper wept. Sam climbed
down and ran to the edge of the crowd, then returned.
"They're saying goodbye to Dr. Ben-Judah.
He's going to Jerusalem."
  A few moments later, Tsion and Buck
Williams moved through the crowd. Tsion pulled what
looked to Lionel like a handkerchief from his pocket and
waved it as Buck climbed aboard the chopper.
  "People! People!" Tsion shouted. "I am overwhelmed at
your kindness. Pray for me, won't you, that I will be
privileged to usher many more into the kingdom. We are just
days away now from the battle, and you know what that
means. Be waiting and watching. Be ready
for the Glorious Appearing! If I am not back before
then, we will be reunited soon thereafter.
  "You will be in my thoughts and prayers,
and I know I go with yours. Thank you again! You are in
good hands with Chaim Rosenzweig, and so I bid you
farewell!" Tsion kept waving at the people as the
helicopter lifted off.
  "Wish we could be going to Jerusalem," Sam
said.
  "You're part of Zeke's brigade," Lionel
said. "There'll be plenty of action here."
  Lionel sprinted toward the tech center. He
couldn't wait to tell Judd and Vicki that Tsion was
heading their way.


  FIFTEEN
  Rumbling Earth
  JUDD'S head spun with Lionel's news of
Tsion's departure from Petra. Then Chang Wong
reported that hundreds of thousands of troops would
arrive in the valley of Megiddo the following day.
Everything was happening so fast.
  "That's going to be a nightmare to feed and equip
all those soldiers," Vicki said.
  "The Global Community's been preparing for this a
long time," Jamal said. "They'll find a
way to mass their troops."
  With the help of others, Judd and Vicki placed
ammunition boxes in strategic places throughout the
tunnels. When the fighting began in Jerusalem, they
would be able to get ammo to rebels within minutes.
  "They keep talking about a guerilla war,"
Vicki said. "What's that mean?"
"Lots of little wars throughout the city," Judd said.
"Basically the rebels know they have no chance of beating
this army headon, so they're going to spread out and try
to make it as difficult as possible for the GC."
  Rebel leaders barked orders, and young men and
women prepared for battle. Teams of workers went
into the street to set up barricades.
  "Chopper's landing at the Temple Mount," one
man yelled as he ran through the tunnel to get more
Uzis and grenades.
  Judd grabbed the man by the arm. "Is it a GC
chopper?"
  "Didn't look like it, but I didn't stay
long. There's an angry mob out there."
  "You think that's Tsion?" Vicki said.
  "Has to be, "Judd said.
  It took Judd a few minutes to get his
bearings once he and Vicki had climbed
out of their hiding place. Making sure there were no
Global Community forces nearby, they headed for the
Temple Mount.
  Judd was surprised to see old men praying at
the Wailing Wall, something they hadn't been allowed
to do for a long time. "I haven't seen so many unmarked
people since Masada."
  "These people must have been in hiding for years," Vicki
said. "But you can tell they're scared."
"They're scared, but you have to understand. This is their city.
They'll do anything to defend it."
  "Even if it's going to fall?" Vicki said.
"You know Tsion believes it will."
  Judd took Vicki's hand, and they ran to the
place where Judd had seen the two witnesses,
Eli and Moishe. He wished they would come back now
and preach.
  Suddenly there was a commotion when a man with a gun
at his side pushed his way through the crowd at the
Wailing Wall. He wore loose-fitting
canvas-type clothing and a jacket. On his head was
the traditional covering of the Jews, a yarmulke.
"Men of Israel, hear me!" he bellowed. "I
am one of you! I come with news!"
  "It's Tsion!" Judd whispered. "Come
on!"
  They pushed their way to the edge of the gathering, then
climbed higher for a better look. Men yelled at
Tsion, but Judd couldn't tell what they were saying.
  Finally, Tsion said, "What you need is
Messiah!"
  Some cheered, many laughed, and even more grumbled.
Judd caught sight of Buck Williams.
  "Many of you know me! I am Tsion BenJudah.
I became persona non grata when I
broadcast my findings after being commissioned to study the
prophecies concerning Messiah. My family was
slaughtered. I was exiled. A bounty remains on
my head."
  "Then why are you here, man? Do you not know the
Global Community devils are coming back?"
  "I do not fear them, because Messiah is coming too!
Do not scoff! Do not turn your backs on me!
Listen to our own Scriptures. What do you think this
means?" He read Zechiariah 12:8-10: "'In
that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of
Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that
day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like
God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in
that day that I will seek to destroy all the
nations that come against Jerusalem. 
"'And I will pour
on the house of David and on the inhabitants of
Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then
they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they
will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and
grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." "
  Judd felt tears coming to his eyes and glanced
at Vicki. She was overwhelmed with emotion too.
"You tell us what it means!" someone yelled.
  "God is saying he will make the weakest among us
as strong as David," Tsion said. "And he will
destroy the nations that come against us. My dear friends, that
is all the other nations of the earth!"
  "We know. Carpathia has made it no
secret!"
  "But God says we will finally look upon The whom
they pierced," and that we will mourn him as we would
mourn the loss of a firstborn son. Messiah was
pierced! And God refers to the pierced one as The
Messiah is also God.
  "Beloved, my exhaustive study of the hundreds
of prophecies concerning Messiah brought me to the
only logical conclusion. Messiah was born of a
virgin in Bethlehem. He lived without sin. He
was falsely accused. He was slain without
cause. He died and was buried and was raised after
three days. Those prophecies alone point
to Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah. He is the
one who is coming to fight for Israel. He will avenge
all the wrongs that have been perpetrated upon us over the
centuries. "The time is short. The day of salvation
is here. You may not have time to study this for yourselves.
Messiah is God's promise to us.
Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. He
is coming. Let him find you ready!"
  People shouted at Tsion, clearly offended. Some
walked away, but others seemed to want to hear more.
Even with all the noise and confusion the crowd grew,
and Judd was worried Peacekeepers or Morale
Monitors might show up.
  Tsion kept talking, quoting Scripture, and
explaining it. He spoke of the armies gathering
to destroy them, but he urged the people not to be afraid of
them but to be ready for the Messiah.
  "If you want to know how to be prepared for him,"
Tsion yelled, "gather here to my left and my
associate will tell you. Please! Come now!
Don't delay! Now is the accepted time. Today is
the day of salvation."
  Vicki looked at Judd. "Does
he mean Buck?"
  Judd nodded in amazement. Buck wasn't
Jewish and was a reporter, not a preacher.
  But to Judd's astonishment, Buck began speaking
after a short pause. "When Jewish people such as yourselves
come to see that Jesus is your long-sought Messiah,
you are not converting from one religion to another, no
matter what anyone tells you. You have found your
Messiah, that is all. Some would say you have been
completed, fulfilled. Everything you have studied and been
told
all your life is the foundation for your acceptance of
Messiah and what he has done for you."
  Tsion bowed his head in prayer as Buck told the
men how to accept God's gift of salvation through
Jesus. "He comes not only to avenge Jerusalem
but to save your soul, to forgive your sins, to grant you
eternal life with God."
^
  Lionel stared at the computer screen, now split
into two sections. On one side he watched troop
movement into the valley outside Jerusalem. On
the other he monitored GCNN'S coverage of the
pending battle. For the last several days, reporters
had talked about the Euphrates River drying up.
  Now they focused on Nicolae
Carpathia riding a huge, black horse. The
man held a long sword and grinned from ear to ear.
"We have the absolute latest in technology and
power at our fingertips," Carpathia shouted. "My
months of strategy are over, and we have a
foolproof plan. That frees me to encourage the
troops, to be flown to the battle sites, to mount
up, to be a visual reminder that victory is in
sight and will soon be in hand.
  "It will not be long, my brothers and sisters
in the Global Community, until we shall reign
victorious. I shall return to rebuild my throne
as conquering king. The world shall finally be as one! It is not
too early to rejoice!"
^
  Vicki couldn't believe that she was seeing
prophecy fulfilled before her eyes. As Buck
prayed with people pressing toward him, Tsion
Ben-Judah told others the truth about Jesus, and
more Jews streamed in to hear the message. The people who
had rejected Jesus for so long now believed he was
their Messiah.
  Crowds surged around Tsion and Buck. Soon
thousands wept aloud and fell to their knees, asking
God's forgiveness.
  Tsion continued his message, telling the
throng that the armies gathered nearby would face another
terror from God, a mighty earthquake. He said
hail weighing as much as one hundred pounds would fall
to the earth, crushing people.
  "Do you know what will happen here, right here in
Jerusalem?" Tsion said. "It will be the only city
in the world spared the devastating destruction of the greatest
earthquake ever known to man. The Bible says, 'now
the great city"--t's Jerusalem--"was
divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations
fell."
  "That, my brothers, is good news. Jerusalem
will be made more beautiful, more efficient. It will be
prepared for its role as the new capital in
Messiah's thousand-year kingdom."
^
  Lionel wrote a quick report to the rest of the
Young Trib Force and hoped they would see it. There was
so much activity in the tech center that Lionel had
to put on headphones to hear the latest from GCNN.
With a click of a button, he viewed a camera
mounted at the top of Petra. Below the edges of the
rock walls, platoons of soldiers prepared their
weapons. He clicked on GCNN, which showed an
aerial picture of Nicolae's army, and shook
his head. A few thousand soldiers against that?
His phone rang and he was surprised to hear Steffi
on the other end. Her voice trembled with fear.
"We've been watching the coverage about the battle.
I'm afraid we've waited too long to get out of
here."
  Lionel explained what he knew about the
rescue effort and told Steffi that Mac
McCullum would fly there. "Where are you now?"
"Outside of our hiding place on the--" Steffi
stopped, then gasped.
  "What is it?" Lionel said.
  "Something so bright that the darkness is gone!" she said.
"It's big. Very big."
  Before Lionel could ask another question, a piercing
male voice sounded through the phone. "Babylon
the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a
dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul
spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!"
  Lionel raised a fist in the air. "Steffi,
that's the angel! I'll go tell Mr.
McCullum. He'll come get you!"
  But before Lionel could hang up, another voice
said, ""Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her
sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For
her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered
her iniquities."" 
  As soon as Lionel hung up, he raced
to find Mac. He finally found him at his
airplane, firing up the engines.
  Mac had heard the report from someone else and was
on his way to New Babylon. "Got room for one
more, if you'd like to come along," he said.
  Lionel climbed on board while Mac called
for another plane to help evacuate believers.
"With these two planes, I figure we should be
able to bring up to two hundred people out of there. I hope
that's enough."
  They landed near the palace and Lionel gasped.
People who had been living in darkness wandered about the
runway, limping and staggering, not knowing what to do.
  As soon as the plane stopped, Lionel helped
Mac get the stairs down. More than
  150 believers cheered outside. The other plane
landed and took half of the believers who carried their
belongings in sacks and boxes. Loading took only
a few minutes, and they were ready to go.
  Lionel looked at the faces of people as they
boarded, wondering which one was Judd's friend Zvi.
Lionel saw a blonde young lady with an
older woman and approached her. "Steffi?"
  "Lionel?"
  The two hugged, and Steffi introduced Lionel
to her mom.
  "No time for chitchat," Mac said. "Let's
get out of here."
  Soon the planes raced down the runways. Before
the wheels of Mac's plane were off the ground,
Lionel noticed a volley of missiles being
launched from just outside the city. As the planes
rose higher, black smoke engulfed the once
gleaming city. Mac circled as missile
after missile hit the heart of New Babylon,
destroying the entire city in less than one hour.
^
  As darkness fell, Judd and Vicki broke
away from Tsion's preaching and scurried underground. The
news of Babylon's fall had reached them through
Tsion's Web site. Believers in the underground
passage were excited about Judd and Vicki's
news that thousands of Jews were turning to Christ, but
unbelievers scoffed.
  "If Babylon has fallen," Vicki said,
"that means there are only two prophetic events
left."
  "The seventh Bowl Judgment and the
Glorious Appearing," Judd said.
  Vicki nodded. "And if that's true, should we
stay here and feed ammo to a losing cause or try
to convince as many people as possible that they need Christ?"
  "I don't want to let the resistance down, but a
lot of people are hungry for the message. After all,
once these people die, we won't have another chance."
  Judd thought about Vicki's idea while he found
something for them to eat. A supply
  area had pita bread and peanut butter, but that was
about it.
  When he returned, Vicki was talking with a
female Jewish rebel without Carpathia's mark.
Reaching more people is what this is all about, Judd thought.
  When she finished with the woman--who did not pray--
Vicki seemed even more animated. "There are so many
like her all around us. If we can get to them tonight before--
was
  A noise interrupted her. Several rebel
leaders rushed into the tunnel. Walls vibrated, and
lights clinked against ancient stone walls. At first
Judd thought it was an earthquake. Then he realized
the truth.
  It was the rumble of Carpathia's army.
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, Guideposts,
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.
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 of
CD or cassette.