The Scarlet Plan

by Rick W. Warren

  “Jack doesn’t lose. God ordained the span of his life before he was born. When Jack goes, God will do a mighty work in this city. He will shower blessing on those He has chosen to stop these men. The Scarlet will think that Jack’s death will bring them ultimate success, but in truth it will only seal their judgment.”

  “Who is God going to use after me?” Jack said.

  “There will be four high school freshmen boys that will begin to share dreams. They will see things that happened in the past that no one else would know. Like Daniel and Joseph, they will receive knowledge from what they see in their visions. Aaron Clark and Emma Ironside will both begin to receive thoughts and insight that will guide them. They will be know things that no one knows and they will know what to do when know one else does. Like Elisha, knowing the activity of his enemies, they will know the Scarlet. Finally, there is Convert.”

  “James?” Jack said surprised.

  “Yes. He will receive strength like that of Samson and just as the Scarlet has their muscle in the Cleaner, Convert will be the muscle on the side of the Lord. All of these blessings will not come until you are gone and once they carry out their mission, the gifts will go away as well. There are times when God choses to do things one way and times when He does them differently. These gifts will come for a time such as this, but in all things it is all for God’s glory. The Scarlet will see what happens when they take on those who are the Lord’s. On Friday, October 16th at 11:15 pm go to the lookout shelter built next to the water at Lake Storey just west of the pavilion. Warn them about their judgment. You’ll know at the time what to say.”

  “Can I mention this to anyone?” Jack asked. “Can I tell James?”

  “For now, what I have told you is for you and Marie alone. Things have to play out a certain way. They will discover their gifts and they will be brought together because of it. However, Marie, you have to let them do what they think they need to do. At first it will lead them to despair when things don’t go according to plan, but that is necessary for everything to work out right.”

  “So I don’t even get to say goodbye?” Jack asked.

  “You do, but through a letter. Tell James all I told you, but give it to Marie. When everything falls apart, give him the letter.”

  Jack and Marie sat in silence. Fifteen minutes ago they had been watching Jeopardy and waiting for a pizza. Now everything had changed.

  The man stepped back from them. “It is time for me to go. Enjoy your time you have left. It may seem hard knowing what is ahead, but everyone else has no idea when their time is. Take this as a blessing. You are loved. The Lord is with you.”

  The man began walking through the living room. As he walked by the fireplace, he stopped and looked at the shield. “The remnant remains,” he said.

  “What?” Jack said as Marie followed him into the living room.

  “Your shield. It’s very ancient. Inscribed with a language no longer known,” the man said.

  “It’s been passed down through my family for many years.”

  “I know. Your family has a strong legacy in the Lord.”

  “What does it mean?” Marie asked.

  “It means that no matter the circumstance and no matter the enemy, God has always kept and protected a remnant devoted to him. God’s people will always endure and they will here in Galesburg as well.”

  The man opened the front door and walked through. “Wait!” Jack said as he followed him out. The man stepped into the screened-in front porch as Jack closed the door behind them. “I have a question. Please.”

  The man smiled. “Sure.”

  Jack wasn’t sure if this man would know the answer to what he was about to ask, but he felt he had to ask anyway. “Forty years ago, when my son died, did he and James really cause the fire?”

  “No.”

  “They didn’t! Then what really happened?”

  “A classmate by the name of Damon Marshall, who actually lived near you, snuck over in the night. He watched them and waited until everyone was asleep. Then he set the fire himself.”

  “Why would he do such a thing?”

  “He’s evil. That night he let the evil in and they have been with him ever since. Remember how I mentioned that the Scarlet has a man they call the Cleaner?”

  “Yes.”

  “He is the Cleaner. He’s coming back.”

  “Ralph was murdered and his murderer is returning?”

  “Yes, but this time Convert will be waiting. Keep this knowledge to yourself. Put it in your letter. Marie will find out when he does.”

  Jack paused for a moment. He had one more question. “Who are you?”

  The man smiled and placed his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “God is good, Jack. Finish His work. Receive His kingdom.”

  “Please watch over, Marie.”

  “Enjoy your pizza. It’s on me.”

  At that moment, Jack looked over to the street to see the pizza delivery guy pull up to the curb. He looked back over to look at the man. He was gone.

  The delivery guy was a high school kid with a nametag that said “Lewis” on it. He was distressed because he had arrived fifteen minutes late. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “We got backed up and we couldn’t get here in time so the pizza is free.”

  Jack opened up his wallet and took out a twenty-dollar bill. “It doesn’t mean that I still can’t tip you, does it?”

  “Wow, thanks!” Lewis said as he took the money. “Do you want any change?”

  “Nope. God bless,” Jack said as he took the pizza and walked back inside.

  As he closed the door, he saw Marie standing there waiting for him. He walked across the room, put the pizza on the end table, and hugged his wife.

  10

  Tears streamed down Convert’s face as he read the letter. He had to hold it away from him so they wouldn’t smudge the handwriting as they fell. Jack wrote him a letter. Jack knew he was going to die. Jack said goodbye and, for the first time, had actually called him Convert. The Scarlet may have had a plan, but so did God. He looked up after he finished reading and saw that Marie was crying too. “You knew?”

  “Yes,” she said wiping her eyes with a tissue. “Please don’t be upset. It had to play out this way. I didn’t know about Damon, but I knew that Jack was going to die.”

  Convert got up and walked over to her. “Don’t ever apologize to me for anything. You did exactly what you were supposed to. I’m sorry you had to endure this alone.”

  “I was never alone,” she said. “You were here. You’ve been here whenever I needed you. Now your friends need you too. This city needs you. You have to do what you’ve been called to do.”

  “So did both of you know this would happen today as it did?”

  “We were told to let you do what you thought you needed to do. We didn’t know exactly what would happen, but we knew it wouldn’t go according to your plan.”

  “Did you know that Damon burned your house down too?” Convert said as he showed her the postscript on the letter.

  Marie looked at it silently. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t know about Damon until the boys told us about him, but it all makes sense. It seems everything has come full circle and this time we can end it. Not only is this justice for Jack. It’s justice for Ralph too.”

  “You’re right about that,” Convert said as tears entered his eyes. “I’ve spent forty years thinking it was my fault Ralph died and the whole time it was Damon. It really wasn’t me. I just can’t believe it. It wasn’t my fault.”

  Marie stood up and hugged him as they wept together. Forty years of guilt washed away. He knew he had been forgiven long ago, but he had still always thought that Ralph died because of him. To know the truth now was like a mountain taken off of his shoulders.

  “Damon said I couldn’t show up until 5:30,” Convert said as he wiped his
eyes. “He said if I show up early he would kill them. I don’t know what I’m walking into. Also, what about the Thinker and the Actor? Where are they? Who are they?”

  “Maybe the boys dreamt again,” Marie said. “Maybe they can help you.”

  “Yes!” He said as hope flashed in his eyes. “I need to talk to them. They can track Damon too!”

  Convert went into the living room to check and see if there was anything else he needed. He turned to come back to the dining room and saw the shield above the fireplace. Marie saw him staring at it. “The remnant remains,” she said.

  “The man told you that didn’t he?” Convert said.

  “Yes. It was him.”

  “Where is it from? How old is it?”

  “All he would say was ‘ancient.’ I’m not sure how old it is.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “It means that no matter the adversary, God has always saved a remnant of people faithful to him.”

  “The gates of hell can’t overcome us.”

  “No, they can’t. Now go stop the Scarlet.”

  11

  By 12:30, the guys we’re up and around and had noticed how nice it was outside so they decided to play basketball out in Josh’s driveway.

  “Hey guys,” Josh said smiling, “Don’t you think we should be tossing a football around instead? Playing basketball on a football playoff day is almost blasphemy.”

  “I think we’ll leave the blasphemy up to our star quarterback,” Trent replied.

  “Are we going to try to go to the game today?” Mark asked.

  “I think I’d rather watch it on TV,” Jordan said. “Clayton aside, I think it’s going to be crazy around there. To be honest with you, I’m not thinking about football right now anyway. I’m thinking about Convert, Aaron, and Emma. They’re actually looking for Damon and we are here doing nothing. It just doesn’t seem right.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Trent said. “We didn’t dream. We don’t know anything more and we couldn’t even handle Clayton let alone Drago.”

  “I know,” Jordan replied. “I’m just really nervous.

  At that moment, Josh’s mom stepped outside. “Josh,” she said, “you have a phone call.”

  They all looked at each other.

  “Who would be calling you?” Jordan asked.

  “I don’t know,” Josh said.

  “Could it be, Pastor Aaron?” Mark asked.

  They all followed Josh up to his room. Josh picked up the cordless phone, which sat on his desk next to his computer.

  “Hello?”

  “Josh, this is Convert.”

  Immediately, Josh could hear the urgency in Convert’s voice. He put the phone on speaker so that everyone could hear. “Hey Convert, what happened?”

  “Damon has Aaron and Emma. He kidnapped them this morning at Emma’s apartment and when I called Aaron’s phone, Damon answered.”

  All four of the guys stared at each other in fear. “Are they ok?” Jordan asked.

  “For now,” Covert replied. “He told me to meet him at the barn at 5:30. I need you to see if he is there now on your computer. Could you do that for me?”

  “Right away,” Josh said as he opened up his laptop.

  “What are you going to do? Are you going to wait?” Mark asked.

  “If I show up early, he will kill them immediately. I have to go on his terms. I need to know something, though, guys. Did you dream again?”

  “No, we didn’t,” Jordan said.

  “Seriously!” Convert said in surprise. “Nothing?”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t remember anything if I did and neither can anyone else.”

  Convert paused for a moment. He had really hoped they would have had some new information. “Alright, guys. If you remember anything please let me know.”

  “Drago’s at the barn,” Josh said as he turned from the computer.

  “Ok. Thanks. Pray for us guys. This is serious. Stay safe.”

  “You too,” Jordan replied.

  Convert hung up.

  “Guys, what do we do?” Mark said.

  “What can we do?” Trent replied.

  “Look at this!” Josh said turning the computer towards them. There was a message sent to him on Facebook from Aaron. It said: Under the tarps.

  “What does that mean?” Mark said.

  Jordan looked out the window in thought. “I think it means that we need to go see Convert.”

  “Now?” Josh asked.

  “No. This afternoon. I think Aaron was led to send this. I think it’s a special instruction for us.”

  “Are you serious?” Trent asked.

  “I am,” Jordan said. “Our families are going to leave early to participate in the pregame carnival. While they’re there, we’ll go to Convert’s.”

  “What are the tarps?” Mark asked.

  “I think we’ll know when we get there.”

  12

  Aaron drifted into consciousness as he felt the sensation of water hit his face. His eyes were blurry as he tried to focus on what was in front of him. For a moment, he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. The last thing he could remember was a struggle. He remembered the grip of the headlock he was in as a cloth with some sort of chemical was placed over his nose and mouth. They had been at Emma’s and when they turned around they saw…

  Damon!

  Aaron’s eyes shot open as he realized what was happening before he lost consciousness. Damon had attacked them. He threw Aaron over the couch and onto the coffee table as if he was rag doll. The coffee table collapsed under his weight and splintered everywhere. Emma tried to grab something to defend herself, but Damon was on her with the speed of a cobra striking. He grabbed her and immediately took a cloth out of his coat pocket and placed it over her mouth. She struggled as Aaron tried to get up to help. Damon stepped forward and kicked Aaron directly in the chest, which sent him rolling across the floor. Within ten seconds, Emma had gone unconscious. Damon laid her down on the couch and approached Aaron again. This time he grabbed him with his powerful arms and put him into a headlock. It felt to Aaron as if his head was in a clamp, but it ended shortly as Damon used the same cloth on him that he used on Emma.

  As Aaron’s eyes began to focus he noticed that he was sitting up in a chair, to which his arms and legs were secured by duct tape. Aaron began to panic as he instantly wondered where Emma was. He looked to his right to see that she was in a chair next to him, restrained as he was, but still unconscious. A small bit of relief overcame him as he saw she was still alive. He turned to face forward fully expecting to be looking straight into the evil eyes of Demon Marshall. Instead, to his shock, it wasn’t Damon. It was Clayton Stoneking.

  “About time you woke up,” Clayton said as he pointed a squirt gun at him. “I almost ran out of water.”

  “Clayton!” Aaron said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m paying my respects. Today’s a big day for me and I won’t have time to come by later.”

  “Clayton, you have to get me out of this! You have no idea who you are dealing with! Our lives are in danger being here! I don’t know how you got here, but we have to get out!”

  “I think you’re misguided,” he said as he started to squirt water on Emma. “Your lives are in danger, not mine. As you can see, I’m with them.”

  “Them? What do you mean them?”

  “He means us, Aaron,” said a man who looked to be in his mid-forties to fifties. He had dark hair and a big smile. He walked with swagger as he approached Aaron. Behind him was none other than Damon. There are more people involved than Damon? Aaron thought.

  At that moment, Emma began to wake up. She was as disoriented as Aaron had been. “Emma, I’m here,” Aaron said. “We’re ok.”

  The captors laughed at wha
t Aaron said as Emma discovered her restraints for the first time. “You don’t look ok to me,” Clayton said.

  “Aaron? What happened?” Emma said.

  “Looks like we got you,” Clayton replied.

  Thomas Rule stepped up to Aaron as Damon stood back. “So you’re probably curious about who we are and why you’re here.”

  He’s known as the Actor, Aaron knew suddenly.

  Aaron quickly looked over to Emma to see if she shared the same thought. Knowing what he was doing, she quickly nodded her head to acknowledge him. The knowledge hadn’t left. This had to be part of the plan.

  Tell him.

  “You’re the Actor,” Aaron said.

  Instantly, the smile disappeared from his face. “How did you know that?” There were only two people in Galesburg that would know him as the Actor: Damon and the Thinker. He knew neither of them would have said anything. The Actor was a code word that only the Scarlet used. How was this possible?

  Don’t answer.

  Aaron stayed silent.

  Damon stepped up to him. “He asked you a question!”

  “Leave him alone, Damon!” Emma said. “Or do you prefer to be called the Cleaner instead?”

  A look of surprise came across Damon’s face. How did she know that?

  “You might as well have the Thinker come out here too,” Aaron said. “I know he doesn’t show his face, but I’m sure he has something to say too.”

  The Actor actually gasped as Aaron mentioned the Thinker. No one knew about him except, Damon and himself. He was even more surprised, however, when the Thinker came out from around one of the stall walls.

  “Thinker?” Actor said.

  “It’s ok, Thomas,” the Thinker said as he approached them. His frame was tall and lanky, but he in no way looked feeble. He was in good shape for being seventy years old. He grinned as he approached Aaron and Emma. “It looks to me as if they have obtained some knowledge, doesn’t it?”