The Sealing

by Patrick Higgins

  Travis gripped the steering wheel as hard as he could. Unlike last time, the arresting officers weren’t friendly. With guns aggressively drawn, they wasted no time ordering the five men out of the vehicle.

  Without even being asked to show identification, the five ETSM leaders were frisked, handcuffed and placed in custody without incident. They remained silent, never once asking why they were being detained or to where their vehicle or personal belongings would be taken.

  All they could do was trust that their Maker would see them through this dicey development. And pray the two men who’d pulled them over on U.S. 340 really were who they’d proclaimed to be and that this was all for show. Given the circumstances, not even the beautiful Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountains scenery could calm their nerves.

  They were too frightened to enjoy it.

  The garage door slowly opened, and the vehicle drove inside. The ETSM leaders silently rejoiced upon seeing secret service agent Daniel Sullivan waiting for them, wearing a Virginia state trooper’s uniform.

  The man they’d prayed with on several occasions at the White House and Camp David, ignored them as if they were complete strangers, criminal strangers at that.

  The agent most trusted by Jefferson Danforth glared at them angrily and shook his head in disgust. The anger in his voice and veins visible on his forehead made them feel like mass murderers who’d just been captured and would soon face execution for their crimes.

  With Jefferson Danforth presumed dead, had Agent Sullivan since switched sides? They prayed not. If it was all for show, which the five men hoped, the secret service agent’s performance was nothing short of Oscar-worthy.

  Sullivan barked orders to the two arresting officers, “I want all their laptops and mobile devises placed in my vehicle. I’ll log them in as evidence once we get to the federal interrogation location.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “And I want the two of you to drive their vehicle to that location.”

  Both men nodded yes, not knowing they were helping the enemy.

  After signing the proper paperwork, Agent Sullivan climbed into the black Suburban. Another agent rode shotgun with him.

  Sullivan looked in the rearview mirror and placed his right pointer finger over his mouth as if to say: “Shh…”

  The five ETSM members did as they were instructed.

  Sullivan backed out of the precinct garage and left at once. Instead of heading south, the secret service agent drove north on I-81.

  Braxton Rice leaned up in his seat, wondering why they were headed north again instead of south.

  Agent Sullivan noticed and once again placed his right pointer finger over his mouth, “Shh…”

  Rice leaned back in his seat but was anything but relaxed. He wasn’t used to not being in control of the situation. He didn’t like the feeling.

  Dr. Kim was even worse. The thought of their laptops and Satphones ending up in enemy hands frightened him to no end.

  They drove in silence for three hours until they reached the Capital City. They pulled into the same industrial building the secret service used last Spring to transport members of both the End Times Salvation Movement and the American Freedom Keepers group to the underground location when they first met jointly with President Danforth.

  Only the five men didn’t know it.

  Last time they were there, they wore blindfolds.

  It was there that handcuffs were removed, and they were ordered to change into business suits to make them appear to be secret service agents.

  They were placed into another vehicle and drove west again for the underground shelter in northern Virginia…

  Sullivan looked in the rearview mirror. “By the way, America’s under attack again…”

  5

  AFTER LUNCH, WITH THE specs for the wall programmed into the laser-guided robotic bricklaying machine, and with stacks of bricks spread about the perimeter ready to be laid in their proper places, everything was set to go at safe house number one.

  The last thing anyone expected was for electricity to be lost all throughout the property. They couldn’t help but wonder if someone working for the county had identified them as an insubordinate community, which ultimately led to the power disconnection?

  It was a frightening thought...

  Thanks to Jefferson Danforth, they had four massive generators, which would one day power the entire property. The problem was they weren’t set up yet. No one expected this to happen.

  Smaller generators were pulled out of storage and filled with gasoline to provide power only where it was needed for now.

  High velocity industrial fans were placed at the four corners of the church pavilion and turned on full blast. Charging stations were set up for cell and satellite phones, laptops, batteries and the like.

  Everyone gathered at the church pavilion to see how they would proceed without the use of electricity.

  Before joining them, Tom Dunleavey went to the darkened cafeteria and filled two plates with food—one for himself and one for Tamika. He dropped Tamika’s meal at the house, then rushed off to the church pavilion, just as the TV was turned on.

  They were about to hear they weren’t alone…

  A Breaking News image flashed on the screen.

  A female reporter said, “The oath taking ceremony in Washington has been delayed so we can bring you more breaking news. Just when we thought we knew the full extent of the attack on our country, it’s being reported that many of our nation’s power grids coast to coast have been compromised, destroyed rather, by the same group of terrorists, as part of their ongoing jihad against the United States.

  “Details are still sketchy. But what we do know is multiple substations responsible for providing power nationwide, have been obliterated in most American cities, with the use of shoulder-mounted missiles. They also managed to destroy a few cell phone towers, and tried taking out some of our nation’s nuclear power plants, but they couldn’t get close enough to them…”

  On a split screen, newly obtained video taken in Orlando, Florida showed terrorists dressed in thobes brazenly launching missiles out in the open for all to see, destroying four substations and a cell phone tower just north of the city. Similar images were then shown in multiple American cities. The fact that they wore their religious garb displayed a total defiance toward Salvador Romanero, despite his recent attack on them.

  “Before releasing his grip on the detonator switch, one terrorist shouted in Arabic, ‘If we will die for Allah, let it be on U.S. or Israeli soil! My last wish in this life is that Israel will be next to be destroyed! To my brothers and sisters hearing this, take up your swords and march on! The battle must continue! See you all in paradise someday…’”

  A deafening explosion ensued, sending body parts in all directions and his soul straight to hell, along with the rest of his slain comrades in arms.

  The reporter went on, “It’s too soon to tell how many power grids were knocked offline, nationwide, but suffice it to say, it’s in the hundreds. If you haven’t lost power yet, chances are you will soon. To make matters worse, due to the mayhem following last year’s disappearances, I’m told manufacturing plants producing the parts needed to repair damaged substations are in extreme short supply.

  “Until they’ve been replenished—which could take several weeks—it could leave many of us without power for many months. Much like last year, if power is lost for a considerable amount of time, with no way of pumping waste, it could lead to the spread of various diseases which could become pandemic…”

  The thought of a possible Round Two overwhelmed her. She blinked tears from her eyes, “Really? As if we weren’t already on the precipice of total disaster? Now this? Damn you all!” Taking a moment to regain control of her emotions, the reporter said, “Sorry for my outburst.”

  She cleared her throat, “About the only good thing in this wave after wave attack on America, is that it wasn’t an electric magnetic pulse or EMP. Had that happen
ed…” She stopped in mid-sentence. There was no need to speculate on something that wasn’t part of the story.

  Not yet, anyway…

  The reporter refocused, “Much time will have to pass before the full scope of their diabolical actions fully sink in. Until then, much like last year, expect banks, supermarkets, gas stations and convenience stores in the affected areas to be closed for the foreseeable future…”

  Everyone at safe house number one shook their heads in disbelief, wondering, fearing, what would happen next. They knew better than to question when it all might end.

  That wouldn’t happen until Christ returned…

  To further prove that point, they would soon learn that the terrorist on TV who encouraged his comrades in arms to pick up their swords and march on, had actually triggered sleeper cells with the command they’d eagerly awaited: it was time for the final part of phase four to commence: the targeting of Jewish owned businesses and interests in the U.S.

  After a while, Miguel Jiminez peeled his eyes off the big screen, “Where’s Tamika?” The 37-year-old Mexican born man planned on returning to the country of his birth to manage a safe house a few miles outside of Guadalajara after the new year. He would use the skills he learned in Chadds Ford to further assist his brothers and sisters in Guadalajara. At last count, three newborns had already been born there.

  In between bites of food, Dunleavey said, “Dr. Singh asked her to remain at the house…” He waited until everyone within the sound of his voice was listening to say, “Jacquelyn’s pregnant.”

  On one hand, everyone was elated for the Mulrooneys. It’s what they’d both wanted and had constantly prayed for. Yet they were equally flustered. Having another expectant mother on the property—with many more to come—presented them with a whole new set of challenges.

  Raising children in normal times was already difficult enough. How much more of a challenge with power out for who knew how long?

  Throw in God’s remaining judgments still to come, and it was easy to understand their mounting concern. How could they possibly hide so many children from Salvador Romanero, and the outside world, under such drastically unfavorable conditions?

  Mary Johnston, the former Waldorf-Astoria desk clerk, said, “So that’s why Brian never showed up for work earlier?”

  Tom Dunleavey grew somber. “Not entirely.”

  Mary shot him a sideways look, “What is it then?”

  Sighing, he said, “He got news earlier that his sister Chelsea committed suicide…”

  Mary’s eyes grew wide with panic. They quickly filled with tears, “The one we’ve been praying for?”

  Tom nodded yes. “Doctor Singh asked Tamika to monitor Brian and his mother, so she could keep her scheduled appointments. As you might imagine, Sarah collapsed to the floor upon hearing the dreadful news.”

  “Oh, no…” Mary Johnston covered her mouth with two gloved hands. She still remembered how fragile Sarah was when Braxton Rice drove them both from Manhattan to Chadds Ford last August.

  Would this push her over the edge?

  Tom lowered his head, “We need to pray for the Mulrooneys without ceasing. They’ve been through so much lately.”

  “Back to work everyone!” Tony Pearsall shouted. “We only have a few hours of daylight left. Not only do we have the power outage to deal with, next week it will be bitterly cold. Having worked in both conditions, believe me when I say, there’s nothing worse than working in the frigid elements headed our way. Give me this weather any day.

  “Just make sure to stay hydrated. Last thing we need is someone suffering from heat stroke. More water stations are being set up all throughout the property. If you feel faint, come back here and stand in front of the fans until you cool off. Questions?”

  No one spoke up. They were still too frightened from the news on TV. This was as surreal as surreal gets!

  Tony put on his hardhat, “Okay, those of you who have doctor’s or dentist’s appointments should proceed there now. For everyone else, let’s get busy. Time to double-up on our efforts!”

  Since arriving in Chadds Ford, Pearsall had proven to be a take-charge kind of guy. As one of two construction foremen on site, even those not under his command were motivated by his words. The way he stepped up to the plate in Brian’s absence surprised no one.

  Tom Dunleavey forced as many forks full of food down his throat as he could. He was sick to his stomach and didn’t feel like eating. But with six more hours of physical work ahead, he would need all the energy he could get.

  Everyone paused a moment when the robotic bricklaying machine was turned on, and the first few bricks were laid into place. They marveled at the speed and efficiency with which it operated.

  Unlike humans, it was completely undeterred by the power outage. So long as it didn’t suddenly breakdown, it flawlessly laid brick after brick with great precision, without ever skipping a beat or needing a bathroom or water break. It was impressive to say the least.

  The 40 assigned to non-construction wall duty—38 minus Brian and Tamika—resumed clearing debris, uprooting plants, shrubbery and sawing small trees on the outside of the property that stood in the way of the new wall. They hoped to be finished by the end of their shift.

  The dozen doctors and three dentists resumed giving physical check-ups in the old daycare center. Mindful that this might be the last time having access to their services, they hoped to examine everyone at safe house number one and prescribe proper medications to those in need, before being shipped off to the next location.

  Since all medications were being kept in the daycare center until the subterranean hospital was finished, doctors and dentists worked out of the same building. Doctor Singh had the only key to the medicine cabinet.

  With 76 pregnant women presently residing at safe house number one, the facilities were ample for now. But once the anticipated hundreds or thousands of infants were moved onto the property, space would be extremely limited.

  Once the hospital was finished, the daycare center would be turned into one of two exercise rooms on the premises. The other would be underground. Both would be equipped with multi station workout machines, treadmills, elliptical bikes, free weights, and so on.

  The general store was in the process of becoming the new laundry room facility. Washers and dryers were pulled from all cottages and would soon fill every available space of what used to be the general store. With so many washers and dryers on the property, most would be placed in storage, and would serve as replacements, as time marched on.

  Relieved of all strenuous duties, to include all heavy lifting, expectant mothers cooked meals in the cafeteria, swept and mopped floors, and washed and folded clothing in the laundry room.

  Meanwhile, after analyzing blueprints all morning, testing beneath the earth’s surface with ground penetrating radar, and marking a wide perimeter, the command was given for the tunnel boring machine to start digging the first 50-foot hole in the earth, at the back of the property.

  To the men in charge of operating the machine, it was music to their ears. Once completed, each would have four cement floors that were connected by stairways; all three would be connected by tunnels.

  The surveyor then went to the front of the property to test beneath the earth’s surface near the pool, with ground penetrating radar. A fourth hole would be dug there for two single walled fiberglass tanks for storing water.

  The 70,000-gallon tank would be chemically treated and used for drinking, cooking and showering. The 30,000-gallon tank would be recycled and used for waste, which would then be circulated. Low volume flush fixtures were placed on all toilets.

  New plumbing pipes would be laid connecting to the tanks.

  The small sections of the maroon wooden fence that needed to come down were quickly bulldozed. The wood was stacked and placed on a flatbed truck and driven to the rear of the property, a hundred feet away from the fuel tanker, now covered with a military camouflage drape.

  In
this stifling heat and with so much smoke already in the atmosphere, lighting a fire was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Even living on a shaded property, it felt like the Sahara Desert in summertime.

  But that would change next week when temperatures plummeted, and the wood would be needed for warmth.

  The bulldozer then cleared the seven cottages that had burned to the ground on the day of the Rapture. Whatever wood could be salvaged from the rubble was added to the firewood pile out back.

  Those assigned to cottage construction resumed building inner walls and adding copper fitted roofs. There were enough men and women to reconstruct ten cottages each day.

  With the green slimy water drained from the pool, the men and women assigned to that task scrubbed the floor thoroughly with mops one last time, then laid a thick plastic lining to collect rainwater and snow so it could be properly treated.

  As roofers resumed adding a new copper fitting to the church pavilion, others covered the hollow space above where the wooden trusses crisscrossed with a new ceiling. Once finished, the new second floor would be used to stand guard.

  As much as it pained them, the cross and steeple were taken down. The canvas walls would remain in place until the robotic bricklaying machine became available and a new brick and mortar wall could be built.

  With rodent traps set and the building sprayed for all other insects, those on extermination duty sprayed each cottage one by one, and all other buildings on the property. Hopefully soon, safe house number one would be rid of most insects, rats, and bee’s and wasp’s nests.

  Those assigned to cafeteria duty resumed cleaning and inventorying all MREs (Meals ready to eat), canned goods and freeze-dried foods sent there by Jefferson Danforth.

  With shelves stocked full of supplies, emergency backpacks were filled with jars of peanut butter, tuna fish, granola bars, bottled water, vitamins, plastic forks and knives, a change of clothing, and compact first aid kits. Once assembled by the pregnant women, teenagers strategically placed them all throughout the property.