The Sealing

by Patrick Higgins

  His voice travelled so fast, even those at other tables laughed.

  When Brian returned to his table in the cafeteria, he found his mother engrossed in conversation with Mary Johnson.

  Swallowing the food in her mouth, Mary said, “Originally, I was slated to be placed in a safe house somewhere outside Atlanta. Then I met Donald, and everything changed.

  “You didn’t know him before coming here?”

  Mary shook her head, “I know, it’s crazy. Truth be told, I met him the same day I met you. In a world where everything’s moving at lightning speed, it’s only fitting that we fell in love so quickly.

  “Our first conversation was in hazmat suits. No one comforted me or made me feel safer than he did.” Mary stopped talking seeing a faraway look on Sarah’s face. She was one of the residents wearing a hazmat suit on that insane night. She was probably reliving it all over again...

  Mary cleared her throat to regain Sarah’s attention. It worked.

  Sarah said, “How did you end up here in the first place?”

  “I worked at the Waldorf-Astoria until I came here. I checked Charles Calloway into his room on the day of the Rapture. I’ll never forget the deep flesh wound above his left eye. He ended up stranded in Manhattan with everyone else. I saw him in the lobby a few times, but we never spoke. When he left, I never thought about him again. That is, until I started having dreams about him…”

  “A few months later, out of nowhere, he shows up at the Waldorf again, saying he had dreams about me too. To say I was blown away is an understatement, especially after he mentioned something about a Christian organization. He couldn’t say much because I was working.

  “Turns out that was the night he smuggled Tamika out of the city. Anyway, he contacted me a few weeks later inviting me to join the organization, but if I did, I would receive no pay, only food and shelter. Funny thing was, his words never phased me.

  “After my shift, I went home and spent the night in prayer. The next day, I gave my two weeks’ notice at work and opted not to renew my apartment lease. Now here I am married to a man I barely know and getting ready to relocate to the Philippines.

  “I won’t miss the cold so much, but I will miss the snow. Nothing like watching snow falling from the sky. It never snows in the Philippines. Then again, this may be the last time it snows here too.

  “Don’s been teaching me basic Tagalog, which is the official language of the Filipino people.”

  “Had Charles told me it would lead to all of this I would have never given serious thought to such a bizarre notion. I admit I’m not thrilled about spending my final days on earth in a foreign land in Southeast Asia, but at least I won’t be alone like I was most of my adult life.”

  Sarah sighed. It’s like Mary was telling her life story, only in reverse. Now she was the lonely one. To make matters worse, Mary was leaving just as they were getting to know each other. All that wasted time…

  Mary took a sip of water and let her eyes wander throughout the cafeteria. She became teary-eyed. “I was adopted. Where other families have histories, all I had was a vast gray space. I often feared that if I ever miraculously got married, aside from perhaps a few coworkers, who else could I possibly invite?

  “My fear was that only the groom would have people sitting in the church. I admit I’m scared to death like everyone else, but at this particular moment, having so many people attend my wedding, who are actually here as much for me as my husband, fills me with unspeakable joy.”

  Sarah looked sad. “I wish you weren’t leaving. You’re practically the only one I know here, not counting my son and daughter-in-law.”

  “Don’t worry, Sarah. You’ll be fine. Everyone’s so nice here.”

  “What happened to Braxton?”

  Before Mary could answer, Tamika walked through the cafeteria door. “Praise God, brother Tom is in serious but stable condition. Thanks to doctor McFadden, Doctor Singh thinks they caught it just in time.”

  Looking at Donald and Mary Johnson, she said, “Tom sends his apologies for missing your wedding. He asked me to give this to you…”

  Tamika handed the bride and groom a bottle of Johnson and Johnson baby oil. A letter “t” was glued to the second “Johnson” to read: Johnson and Johnston. “Brother Tom wanted to present it to you after you said your ‘I do’s’, but God had other plans.

  “He said now that you’re officially married, he doesn’t wanna know what the oil will be used for! Man still has his sense of humor.”

  Many burst out in laughter. But it was a guarded laughter, much like soldiers in enemy territory knowing they were completely surrounded and didn’t have the manpower or the weaponry to defeat their foe, regardless of how hard they fought; not physically, anyway…

  In a world ruled by none other than the Son of Perdition, who knew what the next sunrise would bring?

  No one at safe house number one could answer that question…

  As the ceremony came to a close, Travis Hartings said, “Listen up. Regarding tonight’s sleeping arrangements, many of you will be taken to the three new military-style bunkers that were recently constructed. I’m told they sleep two hundred people. The heat’s already been turned on.

  “While we do have nearly three hundred cottages on the property, with power out for so long, most have been vacant all this time and are probably dusty and musty. As many of us shovel snow after tomorrow’s church service, the rest of us can help rid the cottages of dust.

  “Those of you who will be staying here after we’re gone will eventually be assigned to cottages. Until then, sleep wherever you’d like, so long as single men and women are separated.”

  After Clayton Holmes prayed, everyone retired to their sleeping quarters.

  44

  SALVADOR ROMANERO DAY

  FORMERLY KNOWN AS “CHRISTMAS Day”, the world was once again in a celebratory mood, even if guarded. Unlike last year, with thousands of babies being born each day, worldwide, Christmas was suddenly for children again, even if it was no longer known by that name.

  Romanero’s followers would never again utter the words, “Merry Christmas!” Instead, they would proclaim, “Happy Salvador Romanero Day” or “Happy Miracle Maker Day!” Both were acceptable.

  Christmas trees weren’t sold this year; they were too closely connected to Christmas. Even if they were sold, who could afford them?

  Thanks to Salvador Romanero, for the first time in 13 months, droves of people showed up at malls and at clothing and toy stores at the crack of dawn—vouchers in hand—eager to redeem them for toys and clothing for their children. Even if only a handful of stores were open, it was a step in the right direction.

  What made the Miracle Maker’s “generosity” so seamless was, much like the houses given to those relocating last summer had been vacant for half a year, toys, diapers and kids’ clothing had gone unsold for nearly a year, which ultimately resulted in a huge surplus.

  If anything, giving them away made good business sense, in that storeowners could redeem the vouchers and break even on the merchandise. All things considered it was a decent tradeoff.

  For families blessed with children and grandchildren, just hearing the cooing sounds that only infants could make, filled millions of households worldwide with joy. They felt beyond fortunate to have another chance to put down roots and raise families again. What more could they want?

  The first two “new” international holidays Romanero spoke into existence didn’t go as planned.

  Universal Children’s Day ended with countless millions of casualties.

  The Day of New Beginnings holiday led to complete embarrassment and humiliation for Romanero, because Yogesh Patel was in his presence when it happened.

  So far, his new birthday had gone off without a glitch.

  All in all, one of the three, or one-third, had gone smoothly. Then again, even this one was already off to a deceptive start, because it wasn’t Romanero’s real birthday to begin with. Ma
ny things in life can be changed—including one’s name—but not one’s date of birth.

  Salvador’s real birthday was on February 2nd, which happened to be the 33rd day of the calendar year. Much like December 25th, which was the Winter Solstice, February 2nd was a date steeped in evil.

  In the United States of America, it was known as Groundhog Day. On the 33rd day of each calendar year, a beast rose up from the earth prognosticating the future, by predicting how many months of winter were left for all who chose to believe him. Subtle, to be sure, but that’s how Satan often worked.

  The beast rising-up from the earth worshipping didn’t end there…

  Even more alarming was how a rabbit known as the Easter Bunny had replaced the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in millions of households.

  Much like the mythical Santa Claus did each December 25th, this mythical bunny—another beast living underground—brought gifts and candy to children as they slept. These imaginative figures were celebrated by so many in the world, to the point of idol worship.

  To children, it was an easy sell. The Easter bunny, and to a lesser extent, the groundhog were cute and cuddly animals, which even made good pets. But they were still beasts.

  One predicted the future; the other was meant to take the focus off the most significant event to ever happen in all of world history—Christ’s Resurrection. Without it, God’s salvation would be unattainable.

  From a spiritual standpoint, the Easter bunny taking the place of Jesus was the cruelest form of seduction. Once again, Satan being subtle.

  Both celebrations came to an end at the Rapture...

  To many in the New Age movement and other religious cults, the number “33” was a mysterious number. These occultists even declared it a “master number”, believing the origin behind it yielded magical powers.

  In Freemasonry, it was the highest attainable degree of mastery.

  Many involved in these cults believed this number had a special connection to angels who watched over them, and helped bring their lives into proper alignment. These supernatural beings were venerated by these spiritually blinded individuals to the point of worship.

  When it came to angels in the Word of God—the only true Source in all the universe—the number 33, or one-third, represented the fallen angels that were kicked out of Heaven with Satan.

  Not only that, Christ was “33” when the world crucified Him…

  Little did most know, the angels they openly prayed to, who received all their praise and adoration were demonic beings.

  At the helm of this already damned ship, was Salvador Romanero. He was the ultimate angel of darkness posing as an angel of light!

  Hoping to imitate the life of Jesus, even though it wasn’t the actual day of Christ’s birth—it was a pagan date steeped in evil—Romanero claimed it as his own. This was yet another deception on his behalf.

  Bottom line, he wanted all praise and adoration Jesus received to be placed on him and use this day to begin removing Christ from the minds of humanity, especially the children.

  But this was nothing compared to what was coming next...

  AT 6:30 A.M., MANY were already out clearing snow off roofs and porches at safe house number one, and shoveling pathways leading to their cottages. It would continue long into the evening.

  After breakfast, the piles of snow would be placed in the backs of pick-up trucks and dumped into the pool, before being drained underground and treated.

  With 500 new members and hundreds of visitors on the premises, the peace and quiet normally felt at safe house number one was replaced with the chattering sounds of many bodies milling about.

  Brian and Jacquelyn looked out the front window and saw Joaquim and Leticia Guzman out strolling the grounds looking so at peace. Baby J.J. was bundled up in Joaquin’s arms. The newlyweds looked blissfully happy at the moment, but even they knew it would be short lived.

  Brian looked at Jacquelyn and knew what she was thinking. Would they ever get to stroll the grounds together once the baby was born?

  All things considered Brian seriously doubted it.

  Many newcomers walked the property, taking it all in. There wasn’t much to see when they arrived under the cover of darkness the night before. All were told to keep the decibel level to an extreme minimum.

  But what Brian’s and Jacquelyn’s eyes feasted on most was the group of teenagers having snowball fights, sledding down small hills on shovels, and making snowmen. Even with a grueling day of work ahead, they weren’t concerned about saving their energy for later.

  Brian marveled at them. Perhaps they momentarily put their fears of being the hunted aside so they could enjoy every last second of this “eternal” family reunion. More power to them!

  In truth, Brian wanted to join them. It had been more than a decade since his last snowball fight. But his lungs couldn’t handle it.

  At any rate, safe house number one looked spectacular buried beneath a blanket of pristine white snow, a brilliant blue sky above full of radiant sunshine.

  Jacquelyn took a sip of hot chocolate, “Wish we didn’t have to shovel today.”

  “I know. I could stare out the window all day looking at it.”

  “God sure knows how to give glorious Christmas presents! No store-bought gift could compare to this! Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.”

  “Amen!” Brian kissed his wife on the lips. “Looks like an Amish community. I half-expect to see a horse and carriage pull up to the house.” He took a gulp of coffee, “It’s hard imagining what started out with only twelve of us last August has quickly turned into all this.”

  Jacquelyn rubbed her belly, “Yeah. Seems like a year has passed instead of just a few months.”

  She frowned. With unspeakable evil creeping across the land, she could almost hear the anticipatory bass violin sound common to most suspense flicks, vibrating in the air, getting louder by the second.

  After breakfast and church service, work would begin for everyone—whether cleaning the kitchen, preparing to feed dinner to a thousand hungry people, doing laundry, cleaning and airing out the 263 cottages before turning the heat on, or shoveling snow and removing it off cottage rooftops, to prevent roof collapses.

  Some even planned to venture off property to collect snow out in the woods and the open fields. It would be placed in wheelbarrows then dumped onto flatbed trucks before being taken to the swimming pool.

  Regardless of what task they were assigned, it would take up the remainder of the day. With so many people on the property, they had to take full advantage of it.

  THE FIRST IMAGES OF President Lois Cipriano after giving birth was of baby Salvador feeding on her breast.

  As divine providence would have it, the child came out on Salvador Romanero Day, at precisely 9:11 a.m. No inducement was necessary.

  Vice President Jessica Whitmore was by her side when their son entered the world. She couldn’t conceal her astonishment.

  A few months ago, Jessica had difficulty wrapping her mind around the many grandiose promises that were made to her by her lover. She wanted to believe Lois, she really did, but they weren’t your basic run-of-the-mill promises.

  Promise number one was that Lois would be President someday. Check!

  Promise number two was that Jessica would be her only choice as VP. Check!

  Promise number three was that Lois would give birth at the White House. Check!

  Promise number four was that the two would become one, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, by way of marriage proclamation decreed by Lois herself, which happened just moments after the child was born. Check!

  The fact that it happened on Salvador Romanero Day was the icing on the cake for Jessica. Ever since Lois and the Miracle Maker started working closely together, life was more perfect each day.

  Kissing the President hard on the lips, the Vice President said, “What a wonderful life!” The smile on her face was luminous.

  Lois looked deep into Jessica’s eyes, “This is
just the beginning, my love…You haven’t seen anything yet!”

  Jessica could only smile. She would never doubt her wife again; as long as they both shall live...

  As the two women celebrated at the warm and cozy White House, thousands of American Patriots were being detained all across the country, on President Cipriano’s orders.

  On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Salvador Romanero also gave an order. With Jesus removed from the worldly calendar, it was time to remove His true followers from the face of the earth as well.

  On this celebrated day of their Savior’s birth, tens of thousands of born-again Christians were imprisoned worldwide...

  This would be ongoing from this day forward…

  45

  NEW YEAR’S DAY – VATICAN CITY

  SALVADOR ROMANERO APPEARED AT the Vatican again with the Pope. After blessing everyone down below and wishing them a Happy New Year, the Pontiff stepped aside so Salvador could speak.

  Romanero wasted no time, “Last night as I was thrust into a deep meditative state, the message I received from the supreme being of the universe became crystal clear to me,” he declared, to his global audience.

  “As we ring in the new year, let me speak directly to all of you identifying as born-again Christians, including the countless millions of you who recently,” Salvador placed his right hand on the Pope’s left shoulder, “abandoned your shepherd by leaving the flock.

  “As a man of peace, I wish to extend one last olive branch to each of you, in love, despite your fierce hatred toward me. I wish to help in your rehabilitation, by giving you the opportunity to be cured of your mental illnesses, so your souls can avoid the eternal consequences of your dangerously flawed beliefs.

  “In truth, I always knew Christianity had the potential to cause severe mental illness in those following its cruel and outdated teachings. Clinging to a Savior who is incapable of delivering on His many promises would eat away at anyone’s soul after a while.