The Countdown Begins

by Patrick Higgins

  Her goal until Brian came back was simple: absorb as much of God’s Word as two week’s would allow and pray without ceasing that Brian and Charles would find a way to smuggle her out of the Big Apple.

  There was nothing keeping her in the Empire State, not even Isaac. With their most common links now gone—Dante and Jamal—they had little else in common, including religion.

  Tamika would try to find a way to share the Word of God with him, but if the opportunity arose, she would leave New York City in a New York minute!

  That would be her constant prayer from this day forward...

  25

  THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND

  “BECAUSE OF YOUR OPEN stance for Christ Jesus and your overall obedience to His Holy command, it is my great privilege to baptize you, brother Tom, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” Pastor Jim Simonton declared to Tom Dunleavey, submerging him beneath the water.

  The former Catholic priest came up out of the baptismal pool to a rousing ovation. He raised his hands above his head and shouted, “Hallelujah!” at the top of his lungs.

  Even dripping wet, Tom clung to his pastor weeping tears of joy. He couldn’t stop thanking God for allowing him to be part of something so magnificently beautiful, especially knowing nearly 50 new believers from his former church in Ann Arbor would also be baptized this day.

  Prior to his “true” conversion a few months back, Tom would have scoffed at the notion of dedicating an entire Sunday to baptisms only, with no other services performed.

  Who did such absurd things? Not only that, the thought of being baptized as an adult—none other than by a non-Catholic clergyman—would have never entered into his mind. Never!

  What sounded sacrilege a few months back now made perfect sense to him. Joy flooded his soul knowing the Most High had delivered him from the religiosity he fiercely clung to as a Catholic priest.

  In the three weeks Tom had attended Southeast Michigan Evangelical Church, his knowledge of the Word of God had increased drastically. With his spiritual eyes and ears now fully open, the words exploded off the pages straight into his heart and mind. It’s like he was reading an entirely different Book.

  Before baptizing Tom Dunleavey, Jim Simonton was the first to be dunked under the water. Unlike Tom, Jim was baptized as a young adult long before the Rapture.

  Now that the new lead pastor at SMEC was saved for real, it was only right to take the plunge again for real...

  With Brian Mulrooney’s assistance, Tom Dunleavey had the distinct honor of baptizing his pastor in front of the entire congregation. He knew it was wrong, but he took comfort knowing he wasn’t the only one who needed to be baptized a second time.

  Pastor Simonton came out of the water ever so jubilantly to a thunderous ovation from a full congregation. He was embraced heartily by his two brothers.

  Everyone baptized after him received similar receptions.

  Seven hours later, after performing nearly 700 baptisms, sometimes as many as three at a time—including the 50 new converts from Tom Dunleavey’s flock in Ann Arbor—they neared the end of the line.

  The former Catholic priest counted it a great privilege to baptize those he’d led astray for so many years. It was self-healing. Still in hiding from the Catholic Church, they were extremely grateful to their brothers and sisters for opening their hearts and homes to them in these extremely turbulent times.

  By choice, the last two to be baptized were Brian Mulrooney and Jacquelyn Swindell. When Jacquelyn stepped into the baptismal pool, Brian remained outside.

  “Pastor, before we continue, would it be okay if I say something?”

  “By all means!” Pastor Jim handed Mulrooney the microphone.

  Taking a knee beside the baptismal pool, Brian faced Jacquelyn and exhaled deeply. Sensing what was about to happen, an energy of excitement filled the church.

  Jacquelyn’s shy demeanor surfaced. Her face turned a deep shade of pink.

  Taking her hand into his, Brian looked deep into her eyes, “Jacquelyn, I think you know how much I love you. At least I hope you do.”

  Jacquelyn’s head tilted in astonishment; her heart raced. She gulped in air to keep from fainting.

  Pulling a small black box from his shorts pocket, his voice cracked, “I don’t want to spend another day on this crazy planet without having you by my side.” Brian paused a moment to avoid getting all choked up. “If you feel the same way, please honor me by marrying me...”

  Gazing deep into Brian’s tear-filled eyes, with two of her own, she sniffled softly then whispered, “Of course, I’ll marry you!”

  They embraced. Everyone cheered and applauded wildly.

  “I’d like to do it as quickly as possible, if you don’t mind.”

  “How quickly?”

  “Next week, if possible.”

  “Hmm...” Jacquelyn looked skyward and rubbed her chin as if suddenly deep in thought. “Yep, free all next week!” Laughter erupted throughout the congregation. “I’d marry you tomorrow, Brian. Even today, in fact. Jeez, what took you so long?”

  Everyone laughed again.

  Brian placed the ring on Jacquelyn’s finger and the congregation rose to give them a standing ovation.

  “Pastor Jim, would you be so kind to marry us?” Though he already asked his friend a week ago, he wanted to make it official.

  “It would be my pleasure, guys.”

  “Will next Saturday work for you?”

  Mimicking Jacquelyn’s earlier gesture, Pastor Jim looked skyward and rubbed his chin with his fingers, “Yep. I’m free!”

  Once again, the sanctuary was filled with laughter.

  “Perfect!” Facing the congregation, Brian said, “I’m sure I speak on Jacquelyn’s behalf when I say we’d be honored if you all attended our wedding next week. With time being so short, consider this announcement the only invitation you will receive.”

  “We’ll be there,” yelled a fellow church member.

  “Us too!” yelled another couple.

  And on and on it went.

  When it finally quieted down, Brian placed the now-empty black box on the floor next to the blow-up baptismal pool and stepped inside with Jacquelyn. Reaching for his fianceé’s hand, the newly engaged man said, “Okay, Pastor, we’re ready.”

  Pastor Simonton motioned for Tom Dunleavey to help submerge them both under the water. “Upon your confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it’s our pleasure,” Pastor Jim said, glancing over at Tom Dunleavey, “to baptize you both, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

  The moment they came up out of the water, they embraced.

  Thunderous applause ensued. But the sheer jubilation the newly engaged couple now felt wouldn’t last...

  26

  THE FOLLOWING DAY

  “I’M GETTING MARRIED,” JACQUELYN Swindell blurted out to her parents. Her voice trembled through each syllable.

  Fearing a less than gracious response from her parents, Jacquelyn drove to Irish Hills, Michigan, without her fiancé of just one day. As much as she had wished to draw upon Brian’s strength, seeing the shocked, angered expressions on her parents’ faces, confirmed that she’d made the right decision by going alone.

  Jacquelyn braced for impact.

  After taking a few deep audible breaths, and blinking hard a few times, George Legler finally said, “Come again?” Those were the very last words he ever expected to hear come out of his daughter’s mouth. It was outrageous, bizarre really.

  “Brian asked me to marry him at church yesterday, and I said yes. I love him, Pop.”

  “What a weasel!” George snapped. His body started twitching uncontrollably. “At least Tom had the decency to ask me in advance for your hand in marriage.”

  “I know, Pop, but these are different times!”

  “Blah, blah, blah,” came the reply. “I believe you’ve lost your marbles, young lady.”

  Sheila Legler sat next to her daughter and stroked
her hair. “You’re still not thinking clearly, sweetheart. You’re still distraught over the loss of Tom. It’s never good to cling to the first man who takes an interest in you, especially when in mourning.”

  “Come on, Mom, you know me better than that...”

  “Listen to your mother, Jacquelyn!” George snapped again.

  “Remain obedient,” the newly engaged woman whispered to herself, trying to suppress the uneasiness she felt building inside.

  Sheila went on, “After everything you’ve endured the past few months, I’m sure you really do think you love Brian. But he just happened to be there when you desperately needed someone. What if it turns out to be nothing more than a rebound?”

  “It’s not like that, Mom. I love him in a way that I never loved Tom.”

  “Don’t say that, dear.”

  “It’s true.”

  Sheila shook her head. “But you barely know Brian!”

  “I know how it looks to the both of you, but for the first time in my life I know what true love feels like.” Jacquelyn knew her words were falling on deaf ears.

  “We understand you want another child, Jacquelyn. Even we want that for you. But you don’t have to get married for that. If you think Brian’s the right one to give you a baby, who are we to object? We just want to be grandparents again.”

  “Not sure I want to bring a child into this crazy world...”

  “Don’t say that. With Salvador Romanero leading the way, the future’s bright, right George?”

  George nodded agreement, but ever so reluctantly.

  “I agree.” Jacquelyn frowned. “But only for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Everyone else will be eternally damned...”

  “It’s like Dennis all over again,” George barked, folding his arms across his chest. “Do you plan to become a walking talking Bible like your brother was?”

  Jacquelyn straightened up in her seat, “Hopefully.”

  “This is unbelievable!” Prior to the Rapture, save for when his son came on too strongly with all his “Jesus talk”, George Legler—who was of German descent—was a rather calm, level-headed man.

  Sheila, on the other hand, had inherited a feisty Italian temper from her parents. She was usually the first to get angry. It’s as if they’d switched personalities.

  Jacquelyn exhaled deeply. This wasn’t going to be easy. Looking down at the floor, she said, “There’s more. I’m moving to Pennsylvania.”

  “What?!” George Legler struggled to lean up in his chair, so he could eyeball his daughter more carefully. He was on the verge of exploding. “Are you on drugs?!”

  “No, Pop, I’m not...” Jacquelyn bit her tongue. Having never tried drugs a single day in her life, her father’s question really stung. She wanted to react but kept quiet.

  “Where in Pennsylvania?” Sheila said, trying to preemptively defuse what was brewing beneath the surface.

  Jacquelyn looked down at the floor again. “Can’t say...”

  “What do you mean you can’t say, sweetie?” Sheila glanced at her husband and saw the utter betrayal on his face. He was crushed. So was she.

  George Legler couldn’t believe what his ears were hearing. “Excuse me, young lady?”

  “Sorry, Pop. All I can say is Christians will need safe places to live in once Salvador Romanero declares all-out war on us. He’s not the man you think he is. He’s the Antichrist of the Bible Dennis always warned about. Even if you don’t believe it, there’s no doubt in my mind.”

  “And you’re not being brainwashed?! I think you need professional help. You really have lost your mind.”

  To lose a son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren on the same day was already difficult enough to cope with. Now this? Their own daughter couldn’t say where she was moving? Who in their right mind did such nonsensical things? It was pure insanity.

  It made the Leglers hate Brian Mulrooney even more!

  “I can see why you might think that way, Pop. I’ll admit on the surface it does seem rather strange. But I assure you my fiancé isn’t brainwashing me. I know exactly what I’m doing.

  “In fact, I’ve never thought more clearly in all my life! Crazy as it sounds, I’m convinced Pennsylvania’s where God wants me to go. As Brian’s wife!”

  Noticing the tear build-up in his wife’s eyes, George Legler could take no more. He erupted: “You’ve fallen prey to a madman, Jacquelyn. You just don’t know it yet.”

  “Calm down, Pop!”

  George Legler clenched his fists. “Calm down?! You come here telling us you’re getting married next week and moving to Pennsylvania to begin life anew, and you want me to calm down?”

  “Oh, that Brian’s good, alright! A real piece of work! How could you possibly love someone like him? Can’t you see how cunning and deceptive he is? What a snake! How dare he prey upon you like this when you’re still in mourning over Tom!”

  “I respectfully disagree with you, Pop.” Jacquelyn shivered. She remembered that glare all too well. She half expected her father to kick her out of the house, like she’d witnessed on a few occasions with Dennis. But he never did. Perhaps it was because she was moving out of Michigan and he feared he might never see her again.

  The room grew silent as George took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He knew the situation required a delicate balance. He didn’t want to say something that would potentially cause him to lose his daughter forever.

  Painful as it was to admit, it dawned on George that he and Sheila were failures when it came to their offspring. Simply put, they were good life partners, but when it came to making babies they were simply incompatible. Perhaps it was a breakdown in their DNA. What else could it be?

  Perhaps Jacquelyn’s right. Perhaps it’s best if we don’t have more grandchildren...

  Sheila chimed in, “Your situation with Brian has all the makings of two desperate people bonding after surviving a deeply traumatic moment together. It’s natural to develop strong feelings under such trying conditions.

  “The problem is, you reconnected to society by vesting all your still raw, undisciplined emotions into the same religion that recently destroyed Dennis, Michele, and our three grandchildren.”

  “They weren’t destroyed, Mom. They’re in Heaven now. Dennis was right all along.” Jacquelyn sighed. “Just wish I’d listened to them all those years. If you choose to remain defiant to the Word of God by not believing it, that’s your choice. But it doesn’t make it any less true. The message of the Cross may be utter foolishness to the two of you, but to me it’s the power of the living God unto salvation.”

  Defiant? She really is being brainwashed! Sheila shook her head in protest, then glanced at her husband. His head was buried in his hands. “It pains me to see you so caught up in the very same deception as your brother was.”

  “I’m not being deceived, Mom, you are. You too, Pop.”

  George took a deep breath to prevent a new burst of anger from escaping his mouth. “Do you even watch the news, Jacquelyn? Millions of Christians are in prison and millions more are dead for believing what you believe.”

  “I’m aware of that, Pop.”

  “Is that what you want for yourself?”

  “No, but if I’m killed for my faith in Jesus, so be it. Just hope someday you’ll both come around and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior before it’s too late.”

  “Come around?!” Try as he might, George Legler couldn’t hold back his temper. The level of disgust in his voice was palpable.

  “Yes, Pop,” Jacquelyn said softly. The distant faraway look in her mother’s eyes confirmed that they knew her mind was made up. There was nothing they could do or say to change it. No matter how much pressure they applied, their daughter would never divulge her future location in Pennsylvania to them.

  As Jacquelyn stood to leave, George and Sheila Legler could only shake their heads. They never bothered walking their daughter out to her car, like they always did, or watch her drive off.

&nb
sp; They were too busy trying to piece together this next onslaught of sheer madness which had become their lives.

  It was a bitter pill to swallow.

  Jacquelyn had to pull her vehicle to the side of the road three times while driving back to her house. Her vision was blurred from so many tears.

  “Please rescue my parents, Father, before it’s too late...”

  27

  MEANWHILE, BRIAN MULROONEY SHIVERED when his apartment front door opened. This wasn’t something he looked forward to, but it had to be done. And it had to be done now, while Tom Dunleavey wasn’t here.

  Renate McCallister looked beautiful as ever, dressed to the nines, in a white button-down silk blouse, short black skirt and high heels. After not seeing her boyfriend in more than a month, she was full of cautious anticipation.

  It didn’t take long for the smile on her face to vanish. Something was wrong. Boxes littered the living room floor. Some even had her name written on them. And what she saw on Brian’s face was anything but comforting.

  An alarm went off inside her head. Renate gulped in some air. “What’s with all the boxes?”

  “You may want to sit down...”

  Renate reluctantly did as she was told. “Are you moving?”

  Brian took a seat opposite her, “Yes.”

  Renate flinched. “Are you breaking up with me?”

  Mulrooney closed his eyes and nodded yes, “I’m sorry, Renate.”

  Renate started trembling. “It’s because of Jacquelyn, isn’t it?”

  “No.” Brian lowered his head. “Not entirely, anyway...”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Come on, Renate, you know we’ve been drifting apart since the Rapture.”

  “Rapture? Ha! I think what you really mean is ever since Jacquelyn...”

  “I’m sure it looks that way to you, but it simply isn’t so.” I can’t love someone who loves Salvador Romanero!