The Countdown Begins

by Patrick Higgins

  “Sorry to hear that. And to think on your wedding week and all,” Kimmel said, with an empathetic frown.

  “Yeah, the timing couldn’t have been worse.” Brian hoped the fear in his eyes from being on the run from law enforcement wouldn’t make Rhonda even more suspicious.

  “Someone close to you?”

  Brian looked at Jacquelyn who was staring at the floor. “You could say that.”

  Jacquelyn looked down at her lap.

  “My deepest condolences to you both...”

  “Thanks,” they both said in unison.

  Rhonda sensed the newlyweds didn’t wish to discuss the matter any further. “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

  “You’ve been a great help, Rhonda. We appreciate it,” said Jacquelyn, looking down at her lap again. It was difficult maintaining eye contact knowing their Realtor could become their staunch enemy if word ever got out that Brian was a wanted man.

  As one of the few people who knew their exact location, if a reward was ever offered for her husband’s whereabouts, would the woman sitting across from her—who was all smiles now—lead the enemy to their front door? Jacquelyn gulped hard at the notion.

  Kimmel noticed Jacquelyn’s reluctance to make eye contact but brushed it off. After all, they were in mourning.

  Not knowing what else to say, Rhonda said, “Well, what are you waiting for? Better get going!”

  The Mulrooneys rose to leave.

  “Don’t forget the keys to each cottage are under the doormats.”

  “Check.”

  “I wish you both many happy, fruitful years of married life together.”

  The Mulrooneys smiled faintly knowing, at most, they had less than seven years together as husband and wife. Unless they miraculously survived the coming mayhem. Right now, they didn’t like the odds.

  Just as Brian was closing the door to Rhonda Kimmel’s office, she said, “Oh, one more thing: there will be fireworks in Philly and Wilmington the moment the first child’s born. Might be a good way for you to get out and meet some locals. I’ll be going to Wilmington. If you decide you wanna join me, shoot me a text. Drinks are on me.” Least I can do after the $37,000 commission I just made!

  “Thanks for the invite but we plan on working day and night making improvements to the property...”

  “Understood,” Rhonda Kimmel said with a smile. “Such an exciting time to be alive, isn’t it? I can’t wait to see children again.”

  “Us too...”

  “Won’t be long now,” the real estate agent said. “Do you plan on having kids of your own?”

  Brian and Jacquelyn glanced at each other. “Time will tell, I suppose,” Brian said.

  Rhonda Kimmel looked at her fingernails. The conversation was going nowhere. “Hope you enjoy your first day as Pennsylvania landowners. If I see you at the fireworks, great! If not, no worries.”

  “Sounds good, Rhonda. Either way, enjoy the fireworks.”

  At that, the Mulrooneys left for the property. It was officially their land. They were Pennsylvania’s newest residents. Only they wouldn’t go knocking on doors introducing themselves to neighbors within earshot.

  From a geographical standpoint, this was a significant moment for the ETSM. They were officially on the map. With the first safe house up and soon-to-be running, many more would follow. Hundreds of others were already in the pipeline.

  Initially, safe house number one in Chadds Ford was slated to be the testing grounds of sorts. While others would soon follow, Clayton Holmes and Travis Hartings wanted to take their time and perfect this location to the best of their ability, then use it as a cookie cutter of sorts, much like a fast food franchise.

  But due to the recent events, not to mention the constant rumblings that Salvador Romanero would strike the U.S. next, they were scrambling to purchase as much land as they could get their hands on, most of which would end up being underground.

  President Danforth was right: they needed to be hunkered down in the soonest possible fashion.

  The Mulrooneys reached the residence. Brian climbed out of the vehicle and opened the gate. Now in full bloom, the sprawling property looked even more beautiful than when they first saw it last April.

  Brian craned his neck back and saw Jacquelyn mouthing the words, “So beautiful”, even if her face betrayed her words.

  “Shall we, my dear?”

  Jacquelyn nodded yes. Brian drove the car onto the property then got out to close the gate behind them.

  For the first time since viewing the DVD, he felt a slight surge of excitement brewing beneath the surface.

  Looking at his wife, his lips pressed into a warm smile. Even with so many imminent threats in the air—a constant threat no one was immune to anywhere on the planet—this place still felt like a Pocket of Peace.

  Straight ahead and spread all about were many small cottages, which would soon to be full of Christian refugees. They went off in that direction.

  The keys to each cottage were found underneath the doormats just like Rhonda Kimmel had said. Each time they opened a cottage door, their nostrils were exposed to a musty stench that hung thick in the air.

  After a while, Brian started wheezing heavily. Fearing he might have an asthma attack, all they could do for now was open windows and let them air out, until air filtration units could be placed in each cottage in the coming days.

  They made their way to the church pavilion and took a seat in a front row pew. Brian’s phone rang.

  “It’s my mother. Not sure if I wanna answer it.”

  “Go on.”

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, sweetie. How ya holding up?”

  “Okay. You?”

  “Good as can be expected, I suppose. Still hard to believe Renate’s gone. My mind’s still blown...”

  “Mine too.” Brian changed the topic. “Is Dad any better?”

  “He’s a little calmer now, but that doesn’t mean he’s okay.” Sarah paused a moment to formulate her thoughts. “I finally realize just how lost your father really is, spiritually speaking.”

  Brian straightened up. He greatly anticipated what his mother would say next.

  Sarah sighed, “The nasty message you received yesterday wasn’t only due to Renate’s suicide or Tamika’s involvement in your wedding. I think what has your father so upset is that I’ve received Christ as Lord and Savior.”

  Brian’s eyes teared up, “You did what?”

  “I’m a Christian, Brian!”

  “Are you kidding me, Ma?”

  “No. It happened at home a few days before your wedding. All Pastor Simonton did was confirm it to me.”

  Brian started sniffling.

  “Are you okay?” Jacquelyn rubbed her husband’s shoulders, half-expecting more bad news. Brian nodded yes.

  “I think what got me off the spiritual fence was another dream I had.”

  Another dream? “You’re having dreams, Ma?”

  “Yes. In my first dream I kept seeing myself in the bathtub reading the Bible you gave me, and the letter Justin included for his parents. Never could remember the content of the letter, only the anguish I felt from reading it. Each time I woke, my eyes were moist with tears.”

  Brian scratched his head. “Why didn’t you tell me, Ma?”

  “Haven’t had the chance to. Anyway, frightened as I was to read the letter, I’m glad I finally found the strength. Something Justin wrote had a profound impact on me.”

  “What did he write?”

  “The One who saves us is the very One from whom we must be saved. Justin may have intended it for his parents, but I think God intended it for me.”

  Brian took a moment to let it settle in his mind. “That’s deep. Couldn’t have said it any better myself.”

  “All my life I figured God was the One who had the power to save souls, while Satan was the one who destroyed them. How wrong I was! Now I understand why the Bible tells us to fear God. He alone has the
power to save souls or destroy them.

  “Satan is merely a by-product of unbelief, and hell is merely the final dwelling place for those whose souls are sent there by God Almighty Himself. Satan has nothing to do with it.

  “Once I fully understood this, for the first time ever, I feared God. It was enough to bring me to my knees. I cried out to Jesus in my bedroom closet, so your father wouldn’t hear me, and repented of my sins and begged Jesus to be my Lord and Savior.

  “Like I said, your pastor merely confirmed it for me when he shared the gospel at your wedding. What a strong preacher he is! I’m sure you’ll miss his teaching...”

  Brian wiped fresh tears from his eyes. “Can you please tell Jacquelyn what you just told me? I’ll put you on speaker phone.”

  “Hi, Jacquelyn. Just wanted you to know I’m a Christian now.”

  Tears welled up in Jacquelyn’s eyes, “Praise the Lord!” Finally, some good news!

  “As you can imagine, Dick’s upset with me. We’re not speaking at the moment. We need to pray for him before it’s too late. Chelsea too.”

  “We pray for them every day without fail.”

  “Thank you, Jacquelyn.” Then, “Are you aware of what’s being said about the two of you online?”

  Brian sighed. “We know...”

  “It’s spreading like wildfire among people we know. All of Chelsea’s online friends have seen the DVD. You can imagine how humiliated she is. She hasn’t been online all day. Talk about a miracle! Needless to say, she wants nothing to do with either of you. She thinks you really are criminals. She needs prayer in the worst way.”

  When Brian and Jacquelyn remained silent, Sarah said, “Take care of my son, Jacquelyn...”

  “I promise to do my very best, Mrs. Mulrooney.”

  “Please call me Sarah or Mom.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Jacquelyn said to her new mother-in-law, liking the sound of it. “I could never survive all this craziness without him.”

  Jacquelyn’s words filled Sarah with a new sense of dread. The comfort she always took knowing Dick was always there for her at times like this was no longer available to her.

  Jacquelyn picked up on it and said, “Contact me anytime, Mom. I’m always here for you.”

  “Likewise.”

  Brian said, “Thanks for sharing the awesome news with us, Ma. Couldn’t have come at a better time.”

  “Would you like to know the other dream I had?”

  “Of course.”

  “I think I saw the place you and Jacquelyn are living at. In my dream, Tamika and Tom Dunleavey were there too.”

  Brian’s ears perked up, “Tell me more...”

  “It looked like a campsite or something. Sort of like the one we took you to in the Poconos when you were still a boy. But I don’t think it was in the mountains.”

  “Quite a dream you had, Ma.”

  “It was so real I could almost smell the grass.”

  “Something tells me you may be here soon. Let that comfort you for now, Ma. We’ll be in touch soon. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, son.”

  At that they said their goodbyes.

  Brian draped his right arm around Jacquelyn and stared out in the distance. “Do you think it’s bad to feel joyous now?”

  “How could we not feel joyous after the news we just got? Perhaps this is what experiencing God’s peace that surpasses all understanding is all about. Think about it, the moment we arrived at the church pavilion, your mother calls informing us she’s a Christian. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.”

  “You’re right. I still remember the desperation in my mother’s voice when she called after the surprise attack on Israel asking me to pray for her. To think it would lead to this...”

  “I think God wants us to rejoice over another soul being saved, even as we mourn. How much more since it’s your own mother? Perhaps He’s reminding us that He still has everything under His complete control, despite what we’re going through. I think your mother’s conversion is further proof of it, right?”

  Brian nodded agreement.

  “I mean, if it wasn’t real, she probably would have abandoned her faith by now seeing what’s happened to us, especially knowing even darker clouds loom on the horizon. But she hasn’t. And besides, the only way we can climb the huge mountain before us is by having the proper attitude, right?”

  “Well said, honey!”

  “Well then, if God wants us to be joyous, who are we to object? Let’s do our best to rejoice and be glad in it, shall we?”

  Brian pulled Jacquelyn in even closer. He felt so blessed to call her his wife.

  A few moments later, they made their way to the house they planned on occupying. Much like the night before, Brian swept his wife into his arms and carried her over the threshold.

  Jacquelyn bathed in her husband’s affection, knowing it was merely an outward extension of his true inner-feelings for her.

  It made this moment all the more priceless, deep mourning or not!

  The overpowering smells of an old stone house—dust, mold, mildew and soot from a fireplace that hadn’t been lit in at least a year—quickly attacked Brian’s lungs, causing him to wheeze heavily. He placed his wife’s feet on the floor. “Man, oh man! It’s even worse in here!”

  Jacquelyn said, “Definitely not sleeping here until this place has been scrubbed from top to bottom!”

  “If we did, I’d be in the ER come morning.”

  “Here we come Delaware.”

  As Brian opened the windows, Jacquelyn went to the kitchen to make sure all the appliances still worked.

  Though both were thrilled to experience the joys of moving into a new house as newlyweds, it wouldn’t last. Soon they’d have little or no privacy. Even the house they would occupy would be full to the brim of Tribulation Saints.

  But for now, they had it all to themselves, making this husband-wife moment memorable, musty stench and all.

  After a full day of cleaning and scrubbing, the Mulrooneys were dirty, exhausted and hungry. After just one day, Brian and Jacquelyn knew it would take a small army of residents to revamp the property and clean the 270 cottages dotting the landscape.

  If help didn’t arrive soon, Jesus might return before they were all cleaned.

  “Think we should close the windows,” Jacquelyn said, her mouth formed in a hearty yawn.

  “Why bother?”

  “What if it rains?”

  “Everything’s gonna be replaced anyway. Besides, there’s nothing here for thieves to take. And when was the last time it rained? Let’s just pray for God’s protection and leave it at that.”

  “Okay, sweetie.”

  38

  MID-JULY

  AFTER FIVE DAYS OF cleaning, exterminating and setting mouse traps all throughout the house, and with several air filtration units turned on, Brian Mulrooney could finally breathe without battling frequent asthma flare ups.

  It would take a few weeks before the house was bug and rodent free. But, for now, it was clean enough that once the furniture arrived, it could be brought inside the residence.

  The Mulrooneys were thankful to be out of the hotel and officially moved onto the property. The thirty-minute drive each way was robbing them of so much precious time; time they couldn’t afford to lose.

  On this, their first day as full-time residents, their guests were just ten minutes away. Jacquelyn thought to flick the switch on the coffeemaker before leaving the house but decided against it.

  She knew they’d probably want to inspect the grounds first and pray God’s full protection over it, before coming back to the main house. She would brew fresh coffee then.

  This was the day the newlyweds had dreamed about since first laying eyes on this sprawling property a few months back. They just never expected so many lifelong relationships to be destroyed beforehand. It was bound to happen at some point, they knew, they just hoped it wouldn’t be until after the Mark of the Beast was implemented.
>
  The Mulrooneys reached the front gate just as the founders of the End Times Salvation Movement pulled onto the lot of safe house number one.

  Clayton Holmes drove a dark blue fifteen-passenger van—one of many owned by the ETSM. Travis Hartings was right behind his partner driving a twenty-two-foot delivery truck, full of much-needed supplies provided by President Jefferson Danforth.

  Brian opened the entrance gate and waved them in.

  The ETSM leaders drove onto the premises looking completely exhausted. They left Oak Ridge, Tennessee at midnight and drove straight through the night.

  “Welcome to safe house number one!” Brian said.

  Barely a week had passed since they last saw each other at the wedding, but Brian was noticeably thinner by at least ten pounds. And the bags under his eyes were humongous.

  Yet, there was a tinge of excitement in his voice. Holmes was certain it stemmed from what Charles Calloway had told him about his mother’s recent conversion and the dreams she’d had.

  “Honored to be here,” Holmes said, on behalf of himself and his partner.

  “Where’s Charles?” Jacquelyn asked.

  “Fell a little behind on U.S. 202. He’ll be here shortly.” Clayton Holmes yawned into a fisted hand. Just as the words came out of his mouth, they heard tires rolling on stones on the other side of the maroon wooden fence.

  Charles Calloway pulled onto the lot with the U-Haul truck full of the Mulrooneys’ things.

  Behind him was another vehicle that Brian instantly recognized. “Is that Tom Dunleavey’s car?”

  Holmes nodded yes, signaling for his colleagues to enter through the maroon gate.

  Brian’s shock knew no bounds. “Why’s he here?”

  Travis Hartings smiled. “Consider him resident number four!”

  Brian and Jacquelyn exchanged confused glances. Jacquelyn said, “Don’t you mean number three? There’s only two of us here.”

  Hartings chuckled to himself, “Close the gate first.”

  Brian did as he was instructed, then joined everyone by the vehicles. The Mulrooneys nearly jumped out of their skin when Tamika Moseley suddenly popped up from the front passenger seat of the U-Haul truck.