by Mel Odom
No one had dared to answer.
“Satan’s real trick is gettin’ y’all to believe y’all got something to fear from the Lord. If the devil can get y’all afraid of God, why then he’s got y’all in the worst trap possible. Turn from God an’ y’all are lost.”
“Amen,” the deacons said.
“But y’all ain’t gotta be afraid of God. Satan don’t want y’all to remember that, though. Satan don’t want y’all to ever learn that in the first place.” Josiah had marched across the front of the church, then down the main aisle looking at his congregation with the fiery-eyed determination of a battlefield general. “God already knows where y’all are strong and where y’all are weak. Don’t y’all know that God already knows all our secrets? If y’all do, y’all only got fools for company, brothers and sisters.” He hurled the word out among them. “Fools!”
The congregation hung their heads, not daring meet their pastor’s gaze.
“All the things y’all want to hide from ever’body God knows. He even knows the things y’all hide from yourownselves.” Then Josiah had paused long enough till the last echo of his voice had died away. When he continued, it had been in a softer voice. “But know what, brothers and sisters? Know what the biggest surprise of all is? I’ll tell y’all: Satan knows how strong y’all are, too.”
That thought had scared Delroy as a child. Just thinking that Satan was on such familiar terms with him was almost too much. That Sunday morning, Delroy had almost been able to feel the devil sitting at his shoulder.
“Satan knows how strong y’all are,” Josiah repeated. “He knows how strong y’all are, an’ he knows how weak y’all are. But it’s y’all’s strength that Satan fears. Do y’all know what Satan’s hopin’ as he sets there temptin’ y’all with pride an’ jealousy an’ greed?”
“No, Reverend,” the deacons had answered.
“Satan’s hopin’ that y’all don’t know how strong y’all are in your faith an’ devotion to the Lord God Almighty. ‘Cause if y’all ever learn how strong y’all can be through God’s Holy Word, if y’all ever believe in the strength God gives when y’all cain’t fend for yourownselves ‘cause y’all got a period of weakness comin’ on an’ have to call on Him for succor, why there ain’t nothing Satan can do. Let Satan tempt away. Y’all will be invincible warriors in the service of God Almighty! Can I get an amen?”
“Amen!” the deacons had shouted, and the body of the church had joined them till Delroy had thought the rafters were going to blow straight through the roof.
When the furor died away, Josiah had continued. “We grow stronger with each temptation we turn away from. Satan cain’t help that. There that ol’ serpent is, a-tryin’ to lead us down the wrong path to ever’thin’ that’s unholy, a-tryin’ to lead us away from the Lord an’ His love for us, an’ Satan cain’t help but make us stronger ever’ time he fails. An’ he cain’t stop hisself from tryin’ an’ temptin’ neither. I tell you, brothers and sisters, the devil’s gotta be the most frustrated creature in this here world because his job’s so hard.”
The congregation had laughed a little at that, sensing that their pastor was once more proud of them.
“Ain’t none of y’all perfect, brothers and sisters. Ain’t a perfect person out there.”
“Amen,” the deacons had said.
“An’ I’m here to tell y’all just in case y’all’s wonderin’,” Josiah continued, “there ain’t no perfect man standin’ up here today either. I got my own strengths an’ weaknesses. An’ I been tempted. My hand on a stack of Bibles, I’ve been tempted. We’ve all been tempted. An’ some have fallen today, some yesterday, an’ some the day before that. Y’all know when y’all give in to the devil’s temptations an’ answer the callin’ of evil what’s in this world. That’s between y’all an’ God. But don’t be foolin’ yourownselves that God don’t know.”
The congregation had grown quiet again.
“Ain’t a sparrow what falls from the loneliest tree in the forest that His eye ain’t on it to mark its passin’.”
“Amen,” the deacons said.
“But y’all know what?” Josiah had paused. “God loves us all. An’ no matter what Satan does or says, he cain’t take that away from us. Satan cain’t take God’s love. What y’all gotta do is remember that. Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, no matter what goes on in y’all’s lives, trust in the Lord God Almighty. An’ if y’all slip an’ stumble from the path, ain’t gonna take but one step to head back in the right direction. Just that one step, brothers and sisters, an’ God makes for certain that y’all don’t gotta take that step alone. ‘Cause he steps with y’all.”
“One step,” Delroy remembered, coming back from the memory and looking around at the church with new eyes. He felt strengthened a little. He had forgotten his daddy’s sermon on temptation and Satan’s place in the world.
“One step,” a mocking voice asked. “Do you really think that’s all it takes, Preacher? One step? One step out of a mile leaves another five thousand, two hundred and seventy-something feet to go. I wouldn’t feel like one step accomplishes all that.”
Whirling, recognizing the voice at once, Delroy faced the back of the church and saw the creature standing in the open doorway.
United States of America
Fort Benning, Georgia
Local Time 1005 Hours
While Megan stood speechless, the captain strode into the room and stopped near the podium beside her. He picked up the book about the end times she and the teens had been studying and dropped it back down.
“Religion, Mrs. Gander?” the captain sneered. “As a counselor for this post, that’s not exactly your purview, is it?”
“Captain—” Megan glanced at his name tag—“Stashower, as counselor, I speak on a number of issues concerning the youth of the base. Religion is definitely one of them.” But she knew she was stretching her actual responsibilities. She could talk about religion if those issues came up but not initiate them. And she was supposed to refer serious problems regarding faith and questions of faith to the chaplain’s office.
“Mrs. Gander,” Stashower said, “I’ve been sent here to shut down your little dog-and-pony show before it becomes an embarrassment to this post.”
Anger overrode some of Megan’s insecurity at being confronted by a Ranger captain and a squad of armed MPs. “An embarrassment, Captain? I resent that remark.”
“Resent it all you want to,” Stashower advised. “As of 0800 hours, in an attempt to lessen public-relations problems with the city of Columbus, the gates to this post were opened to admit outside personnel. Those personnel include media people.”
Megan remembered that. There had been a memo in her morning e-mails. “I fail to see what that has to do with what I’m doing in this classroom, Captain Stashower.”
Stashower glared at her. “General Braddock has given me orders to send you packing. Now, I can either send you home or I can remand you to the provost marshal’s office till the matter gets settled through Joint Services. You’re going to cease and desist.”
Disbelief swept through Megan, but anger was hot on its heels. “Captain, I’m trying to help these kids understand what is happening to them and what they are going to go through during the next seven years.”
“By telling them that Jesus Christ Himself is going to return and lead them to heaven?” The captain looked apoplectic. “No, ma’am. Not on my watch. These kids have been through enough without you traumatizing them further.”
“Captain—”
Stashower wheeled on Megan, shoving his face into her space and causing her to back up involuntarily.
“No, ma’am,” Stashower said in a loud voice. “Another thing, Mrs. Gander, if it had been me on shift the other night when you talked the Hollister girl into shooting herself—”
“I didn’t talk her into—”
“I’d have had you locked down,” Stashower finished, raising his voice to talk over her. “You
’re a menace to these kids. You’ve got no business talking to them. And that’s going to be in my report.”
The teens stood and tried to defend Megan.
“Corporal,” Stashower growled without turning from Megan.
“Yes, sir.”
“If those young men and women cause a problem, I want them arrested and charged.” Stashower glared at Megan. “Ma’am, if you have any control over these kids, I suggest you use it now.”
Without breaking eye contact with the captain, Megan called for the teens’ attention. “Do what Captain Stashower says. I don’t want anyone getting into trouble this morning. That’s not what we’re here for.”
“They can’t just make us leave like this,” Geri protested. She jerked her arm away from one of the MPs.
“I can and I am,” Stashower declared. “And that’s happening right now.”
“Go,” Megan said in a firm voice. “If any of you get into trouble, we might not be able to do this again.”
Silently, the teens allowed the MPs to herd them out into the halls. As Shawn passed by Megan, he mouthed the words, See? War.
The suggestion jolted Megan. Was that what was happening here? Had some malevolent force somehow sensed they were gathering, that people were going to be educated to the truth? to God’s truth? Even as she thought that, she disregarded it. That was impossible. There had to be another reason, another way Stashower had known they were here.
Watching the kids file out into the hallway, Megan spotted Juan Rodriguez standing against the wall. His dark, hooded eyes met hers for just a moment. There was no sign of guilt, no sign of remorse. Then he shook his head as if in disgusted disbelief, turned, and walked out of sight.
The captain lifted the book from the podium again and sneered at it. “The end times, Mrs. Gander?” He shook his head. “That’s what this is going to be for you when General Braddock finishes with you.”
“Can I quote you on that, Captain Stashower? That was a very strong and somewhat witty statement using the book’s title like that. Especially when coming from a United States Army captain heading up a six-man security unit of brawny military police officers and directed at a single young woman who serves the troubled youth of Fort Benning.”
A woman’s heavily accented Southern voice surprised Megan and pulled her attention to the second doorway at the end of the room. A camcorder operator stood at the woman’s side. As Megan watched, the cameraman moved his machine back and forth.
“Who are you?” Stashower demanded.
The woman was in her early-to midforties. She had platinum blonde hair cut short, blue eyes, and a pale complexion. Tall and slender, she looked elegant in the light brown business suit.
“Ms. Penny Gillespie,” the woman said in her syrupy Southern drawl. “This is my colleague, Herman.”
Herman the cameraman waved nonchalantly, but never took his eye from the camcorder’s viewer or his finger off the Record button.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Stashower growled.
“I understand that the timing appears to be quite awkward for you, Captain Anthony Jerome Stashower,” Penny Gillespie assured him.
“This place is off-limits.”
“That’s not,” the woman stated, “what I was told at the front gate.” She crossed the room with a stroll that was somehow both business and pure class. “I was told, and I have it on the best authority—a Major Frederick Donleavy, who, if memory serves me correctly, holds the position of Fort Benning’s chief public-information officer—that members of the media are allowed to roam the post freely as of this morning. As a gesture of goodwill toward the city that hosts this fort, in light of the post’s last few days of marshal law and general selfishness regarding the problems of others. We can roam freely, except for the restricted areas, of course. Those, I’ve been instructed, are clearly marked and guarded.” She looked around the room with wide eyes. “I found no such warnings or guards on this building or in this very room, Captain Stashower.”
“You’re a member of the media?” Stashower demanded.
“Indeed,” Penny answered. “I am a member in very good standing. I represent Dove TV, a local Christian television station. I have a small show. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Penny for Your Prayers. The title is somewhat self-aggrandizing, but I assure you I had no choice in the matter. My father can be a very obstinate man when he chooses. I specialize in human interest stories about people who can use the prayers and kindness of others. People who have, in the past, given generously of themselves.”
Megan had heard of the program. Dove TV, with the white dove the station used for its logo, was a local network out of Atlanta and had a considerable fan base among Christian viewers. Penny for Your Prayers was one of the top programs. Looking at the woman now, Megan recognized her as the host.
“We’re very small in comparison to the major networks also represented here today,” Penny said, “but I assure you that we get picked up quite regularly in syndication. Many viewers are interested in receiving a Christian viewpoint on national domestic events that capture headlines. That is quite true these past few days. Especially in light of this singularly unique set of circumstances regarding the disappearances, which Mrs. Gander was attempting to explain to those students when you so rudely burst in and interrupted.”
Megan stood in shock. Stashower’s unannounced arrival was staggering, but coupled with the sudden appearance of a Christian television reporter, events were almost going too fast for her to comprehend.
“I did not burst in,” Stashower objected.
“My dear captain,” Penny said in a crisp and cool voice, “I do remember a time not so very long ago when a man—especially a man wearing the uniform of this country’s military and standing as a symbol of courage and honor and everything that is decent about a man—did not call a lady a liar.”
“I did not—” Stashower caught himself. He ground his teeth. “Perhaps we have a difference of opinion.”
“And I,” Penny told him, stopping in front of him with her cameraman just behind and to the side of her so he could film the confrontation, “I have a very interesting digital recording, Captain. Perhaps I could show this recording to my viewers and have them vote on it. About bursting in or being invited in? Many of my viewers are very big on manners.” She smiled, flashing white teeth that were somehow as threatening as a shark’s. “I could let you know the results in just a short time, I am sure. You and your commanding officer … General Braddock, I believe?”
“Maybe the general will have a word with your station owner,” Stashower said.
Penny gave a mock gasp, put a hand over her heart, and let her jaw drop in astonishment. “Why, I declare. I do think I have been chastised. Or would you say threatened, Herman?”
“Oh, I’d say threatened,” Herman said. “You’ve been threatened before, Penny, and this sounds like one of those times.”
“It must be so hard to come up with original threats,” Penny said. “But I understand your need to do so, Captain.”
A muscle along Stashower’s jaw quivered.
Giving a disapproving shrug and a wave of dismissal, Penny said, “Well then, Captain, certainly threaten away if you feel you must. And you have my blessing to contact my station owner regarding my story if you wish. My father—the station owner—why he keeps an open-door policy. I’m sure you’ll have no problems setting up such a meeting. My father would probably feel up to entertaining your General Braddock as well.”
Despite her anxiety about everything going on and her lack of control over these events, Megan had a hard time not bursting out laughing at Stashower’s inept attempts to extricate himself from the confrontation.
“But I feel I must warn you,” Penny said. “My father, Beauregard P. Gillespie—the Beauregard P. Gillespie of the Atlanta, Georgia, Gillespies—does not always suffer threats in the spirit of good sport in which I am sure your own threat was offered. He may very well insist on a pound of flesh ove
r such an occasion, and he keeps a quite competent legal staff that dotes on him zealously, even when they know he’s being overly sensitive. They would love to see the digital footage Herman has shot of your conversation with me, I do believe.”
Stashower closed his mouth.
“Now,” Penny said, “if you’re through threatening Mrs. Gander, Captain Stashower, I should like very much to ask her for a moment of her time.” She shifted her attention to Megan without awaiting the captain’s reaction. “Mrs. Gander, I must say, it is quite a privilege to meet you. I’d been looking forward to it since I talked with one of the snarly-mouthed young people outside this building who said military police officers were on their way to break up your little ‘Jesus Saves Party,’ as they so crudely called it.” She extended her hand.
Mesmerized by the woman’s audacious confidence, Megan took her hand. Penny Gillespie’s handshake was warm and strong.
“Thank you,” Megan said. “I’ve seen your show.” She wished the comment hadn’t sounded so inane, but that was the first response that popped into her head.
Penny smiled. “You are a dear.” She offered a final squeeze and took her hand back. “Am I to assume, then, that you are free for the moment, Mrs. Gander?”
“Yes,” Megan said.
“Good. This will work out perfectly, because—after hearing about this very interesting class and seeing the attention and retribution offered by General Braddock and his staff—I would actually like more than a moment of your time. I have a proposition that you might find at least entertaining, and hopefully more than a little interesting.” Penny took Megan by the elbow. “Captain Stashower, may I assume that since Mrs. Gander has been unequivocally threatened by you and had her ‘Jesus Saves Party’ properly routed—as ordered by General Braddock—that she is now free to go?”
Stashower remained tight-lipped for a moment.
Megan suddenly realized that the phrasing of Penny’s question, if answered affirmatively, not only let her go but also admitted for public—and camcorder—record that Stashower had threatened her at the general’s orders. On her show, Penny was always quick-witted and often punished anyone who tried to lie to her or had willingly caused strife in the lives of others.