* * * *
"DID I NOT warn you of this situation?” Jesus was addressing the United Nations General Assembly. News of the missile firings had superseded all other topics.
"We came before this body and warned you of the plan of the Israelis to destroy her neighbors as a stepping stone to world dominion. Now she fires rockets without provocation, while she pretends not to know how that could possibly be.” The anti-Christ's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"It appears you have all made the mistake of underestimating her because her territory is small. You forget the nation of Israel has never been defined merely by its borders. Israel has it agents spread throughout the world. I can assure you, given recent facts which have been revealed to this body, the United States is doing everything necessary to root out those agents within her government. I hope each of you are doing the same."
Jesus glared over the general assembly chamber. An eerie silence had fallen over the large room.
"Allow me to read from the documents presented to this body by the Syrian delegation last week.” Jesus produced a short stack of papers and read: “'In a word, to sum up our system of keeping the governments of the goyim in Europe in check, we shall show our strength to one of them by terrorist attempts and to all, if we allow the possibility of a general rising against us, we shall respond with the guns of America or China or Japan.’”
He shuffled the papers a bit and said, “In other words, Israel takes for granted the US and other nations will support her, regardless of what she might do. I say to this illustrious body they are greatly mistaken in that. Here is another passage: ‘At the present day we are, as an international force, invincible, because if attacked by some we are supported by other States.’ Could their plan be any clearer?"
"Mr. Secretary, I must protest!” The Israeli ambassador quickly rose to his feet.
Boos and catcalls erupted from the floor. Secretary General Badime banged his gavel repeatedly in an attempt to restore order. Eventually, the catcalls quieted, and Secretary Badime said, “Israel is being accused of very grave offenses. The ambassador will be given the opportunity now to speak. Please, continue, Mr. Ambassador. You have the floor."
"Israel is not unfamiliar with the tactics used by her enemies to paint her in the most nefarious light imaginable. Our people have suffered persecution and destruction at every turn. Whether at the hands of the Romans two thousand years ago, or at the hands of Nazi Germany in this century, always the tactic has been the same ... accuse us of ambitions to dominate the world.
"My friends, I ask you, is this even believable? We are a tiny nation, struggling to maintain our barest survival. May I remind you it is we who have been invaded over and over again by our enemies? We have never sought to harm anyone. We are a peace-loving people."
"Come now, Ambassador,” Jesus interrupted. “As we speak, Israeli rockets are raining destruction upon her neighbors. You have overplayed your hand this time. America does not stand with you any longer. You have revealed yourself to be an enemy of freedom. These documents have been authenticated beyond any doubt. You have been exposed as the frauds you are.
"How disgraced I am to know I am the seed of a race such as yours.” His voice grew sad, choked with emotion. “It would have been better to have not been resurrected than to learn my people, once a brave and noble nation, have degenerated to such depths of depravity.” With a voice barely above a whisper, and with each delegate leaning forward, straining to make out his words, he added, as he turned to leave, “Will no one rid us of this despicable nation?"
He lowered his head and raised his hand as if to indicate he could not continue any longer, and slowly walked out of the assembly, being careful not to let anyone see the smile of triumph that covered his face as cries of anger were directed at the Israeli ambassador.
* * * *
"I AM NOT leaving and that's final!” Gertrude Goldstein crossed her arms defiantly. “I am not some sort of slave to be ordered about by you, Samuel."
"I am not ordering you around, Gertrude,” Rabbi Goldstein protested. “I am trying to persuade you. I just want to know you're safe. Syrian rockets could start falling any minute now. You must leave."
"I'm telling you I won't, Samuel, and that's my final word on the subject. My mind is set."
Samuel put his hands around his wife's waist, still thinner than that of most women half her age. “And we both know how stubborn you can be when that pretty mind of yours is set,” he smiled.
Gertrude pulled away from him. “Don't try that on me, Samuel. It won't work this time. I'm not going."
"Mrs. Goldstein,” Angelino stepped in. “Normally, I do not involve myself in the disputes of married couples, but I must ask you to consider something. The mission of the Twelve Knights is fraught with danger. We are charged with an important task, and there are forces that do not wish to see us succeed. I do not mean to alarm you needlessly, but there is the possibility your husband may never return."
Gertrude started at that suggestion. Angelino continued.
"If that should happen, your son is going to need his mother. You would not want to see him become an orphan, would you? You are a very brave woman, Mrs. Goldstein, but your son needs his mother alive. Forgive me for my bluntness, but I'm afraid there is no time for subtlety."
Gertrude turned to look her husband in the eye. “Is this true, Samuel?"
Angelino gestured to the others to step outside to leave them to their privacy. They all followed him out the front door without comment.
Rabbi Goldstein put his arms around his wife. This time she did not withdraw. He nodded. “Yes, it is a possibility, I will not lie to you."
"Oh, Samuel,” she said sadly. “I didn't know. How selfish I am being."
"My love, you don't have a selfish bone in your body."
"I was only concerned Jacob be safe. But if there is danger to you, of course I will leave. Jacob comes before my own stubborn pride."
"I did not want to worry you, Gertrude. That's why I did not tell you before. I had hoped to be able to convince you without the need to tell you of the dangers."
Gertrude pulled herself closer to her husband.
"I always knew this day would come ... that someday you would have to leave. But I could have never imagined how painful that day would be.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I cannot bear the thought of losing you, Samuel."
Goldstein drew her closer to him, so she could not see the tears forming in his own eyes.
"My love, let's not think about that now. What I do, I do because I must. The fate of all mankind rests on our success. We cannot allow ourselves to think about our own needs. Please don't make this any harder for me, Gertrude. It is hard enough to leave you as it is."
"Forgive me, Samuel. I know I am being childish and selfish. Of course, you are right.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
"Shhh,” he whispered, kissing her gently on top of her head. “There is nothing to forgive. I only ask one thing of you."
"What is that?"
"Do not let Jacob forget his father."
At that, the tears streamed down her face. “I will tell him his father was a great man, who loved him very much and who once saved the world. I will teach him how to be like his father."
"Thank you, my love."
He held her silently, wishing he could extend this moment eternally. How he would miss this sweet woman to whom he had been devoted for so long. Finally, however, he forced himself to say, “It is time for me to go."
"Go ahead, Samuel. Give me a few moments to compose myself. I don't want the others to see me like this."
"Of course, Gertrude. Don't be too long, though."
He gave her a final kiss, and then stepped outside to join the others.
A few minutes later, Gertrude joined them.
"I am ready, Father Angelino."
"Do not fret, Mrs. Goldstein. I will look after your husband."
She smiled at his generous attempt to reass
ure her. “Thank you."
Angelino made a slight gesture with his right hand, and a bright white light began to envelop her.
"I love you, Samuel,” she said, as she faded away with the light.
"I love you, too, Gertrude,” Samuel said to the spot on which his wife had stood a moment earlier.
Just then, the first air raid sirens sounded. Missiles were on their way to Jerusalem.
"Hurry,” Angelino said to them. “We must get to the Temple. Now."
* * * *
IT WAS AS inevitable as the sunrise. In Berlin, Germany, a gang of young neo-Nazis, inflamed by hatred and believing they were acting on behalf of Jesus, entered the Jewish section of the city. Shots were fired and firebombs were thrown into shops known to be owned by Jews and homes known to be occupied by them. This time, however, they were not greeted by a docile, confused and unarmed people. If the Jews were going to go down in flames, they were going to start a few fires of their own on their way.
It all started slowly, almost hesitantly. But once the firebombs and bullets started flying, and the sound of bullets penetrating flesh reverberated through the night, the violence picked up its own momentum. Soon, pent-up demons of hatred, contained only by the thin and tenuous veneer of peaceful coexistence, had been set loose. Rage and anger intensified as the bloodlust vented itself, unchecked. By morning, three hundred twenty-five men, woman, and children lay dead in the Berlin streets, with many hundreds more severely wounded, some left to die in alleyways and side streets.
Like the scent of blood picked up by hungry sharks, word of the violence in Berlin spread rapidly across Europe. Soon, similar scenes of rabid primal violence were erupting all over the continent: from Amsterdam to Brussels to Reykjavik to Paris to Rome to London; in the Balkans states of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary; and even in the provinces of Russia. Ancient hatreds, long simmering and contained only by a fragile state of peace, exploded into mass violence. In each case, it was the call to destroy the Jews that precipitated the action. If Jesus wanted Israel destroyed, what better excuse could there be to indulge one's darkest passions and hatreds?
The Mideast now was in a state of total war, even more unbridled than the wars that had devastated the region in the past. Rockets and missiles streaked through the night skies, eerily illuminating the sky as they found their targets, turning night into day. And everywhere the violence erupted, whether in the Mideast or Europe, the screams of hatred and of terror chilled the blood of those who heard them.
Death and destruction loomed like a dark lord over all of the regions of Europe and the Mideast. The smell of burning gasoline intermixed with the odor of burning flesh and blood. Everywhere the odor of death permeated the air.
* * * *
"THIS IS HORRIBLE,” Ray Cutler said, clearly distressed. He had been watching the satellite coverage of the destruction savaging the European states along with Arnold Wills and Harold. They sat, speechless, as the images of death and destruction played on the screen. What was most horrifying of all, however, was not the sight of dead bodies littering the street, as bad as that was. What made Ray's blood run cold was the savage fury in the eyes of the mobs. Each scene revealed the same frightening image, whether it came from the streets of Paris, or the villages of Hungary. Everywhere it was the same. Pure evil seemed to have possessed the souls of the masses, as they moved through the streets, like a wave of unbridled destruction.
He had seen many horrors as a correspondent in Vietnam, but nothing matched the wanton hatred he was seeing, contorting the faces of all it possessed into masks of malevolent evil.
The NBS Washington bureau office was bustling with activity, as nearly everyone had been called in to cover the spontaneous terror spreading like a firestorm across Europe.
One image on the screen was no different than from any other; crowds of men and women, and sometimes even small children, running through the streets, firing weapons and screaming wildly. What had begun as a savage attack upon all Jews had degenerated into a series of wars of band against band. The thin veil of civilization that separated modern man from the savage had been shredded, and in its absence, the beast within each person had bubbled to the surface, taking command of their actions.
Ray drooped as he contemplated just how quickly the mindless masses had abandoned their humanity and reverted to their primal animal natures. How had mankind survived even this long, if such bestiality lurked so close to the surface in each of them? In a matter of mere hours, all semblance of order and structure had crumbled and given way to a Hobbesean struggle of all against all.
Local authorities, in a vain effort to contain the outbreak of mass hysteria, were quickly and easily overrun by screaming mobs, then beaten to death with any instrument of death which could be held in one's hands. The superior weaponry of the police forces began to fall into the hands of madmen in the crowds, which only served to embolden them and unleash even darker forces within them, as instinctively they acted in accordance with their sudden superiority of strength.
Next, local military units were called out. For a brief moment, it appeared these might be more successful. Heavy weapons were fired into the masses of hysterical wildness. Each time, dozens lay dead, often with limbs and heads dismembered. But the crowds advanced, oblivious to their own mortality, like a swarm of army ants which knows only that it must move forward and destroy all in its path.
In time, the larger units were overrun, putting yet more powerful firepower into the hands of the mobs. Mobile grenade launchers and automatic weapons were deployed without discipline or forethought. Buildings exploded as these larger weapons of military power were fired into them, again, with no regard for the scores of people huddling in fear within them.
Soon it became apparent to all but the most frightened that the only hope of survival was attack. To sit and quake in fear meant certain death. Gradually, those who had remained in hiding rushed out in swarms, screaming wildly, no longer ruled by reason, but by the blind drive for survival. Men who had been timid accountants just hours ago had been transformed into barbaric killers. Mothers who earlier had been peacefully suckling their infants, were wielding weapons and clubs, firing and swinging wildly at anything and anyone who dared to obstruct them.
The three men watched in silent horror as these same events were repeated again and again in every country in Europe.
Ray's phone, which had been curiously silent, suddenly rang loudly, startling the three of them. He lifted the receiver without taking his eyes from the television.
"Cutler here ... Yes, Jim ... Oh, my God! ... No ... Just set up a remote camera and get the fuck out of there now. Get your family to safety as fast as you can. There's nothing more you can do there."
He replaced the receiver on the phone.
"That was Jim Harris in Detroit. It's started here now. I could hear the gunshots in the background."
Harold and Arnold had no response. The chilling reality of what was occurring finally struck them like a hammer. There would be no safe haven.
Again the phone rang. This time it was the bureau chief in Los Angeles. It was happening there too.
For the next half-hour, Ray took phone call after phone call. Chicago, Boston, New York, and even places like Phoenix, Madison, and Des Moines, were one by one succumbing to the mass hysteria they had been witnessing on television. The mouth of Hell itself had opened, and from its depths, all the demons of perdition were swarming across the earth.
"So this is the world of the anti-Christ,” Ray said quietly, his voice quaking with terror.
Harold seemed to hear something. He quickly rose from his chair and rushed to the window. From their vantage point on the twenty-second floor, he could see off into the distance. A mob of people was slowly moving in their direction. Faintly, he could hear a chant growing louder as the mob rapidly advanced.
"Kill the Jews! Kill all the Jews! Kill the Jews! Kill all the Jews!” Off in the distance, Harold could see fires burning all o
ver. Looking toward Pennsylvania Avenue, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Capital building and White House were safe ... for the moment.
"I think we've got some trouble here, gentlemen,” he finally said. Ray and Arnold rushed over and saw the approaching mob moving toward them, a mass of embodied malevolence.
Ray dashed to his desk and frantically began searching through drawers, his hands trembling so badly he could hardly grab the handles. Finally, he found a revolver in one of the drawers. He fed bullets into the chambers, his trembling hands dropping them repeatedly. Persistently, he picked up the bullets as fast as he dropped them and finally got the pistol loaded. His face was ashen, and his eyes were glazed over with fear.
"Ray, take it easy,” Arnold said forcefully, as he and Harold rushed to his side. Arnold put a restraining hand on the hand in which Ray was holding the pistol, while Harold grabbed him firmly by the shoulders.
"What are you doing, Ray?” Arnold asked. “Get a hold of yourself!"
Ray attempted to struggle free.
"Ray!” Arnold grabbed Ray's face, forcing him to make eye contact. “Ray, take it easy. It's me, Arnold."
The blind terror faded from Ray's eyes and he regained his composure.
"I ... I'm sorry.” He collapsed into his chair. “What happened? I seem to have blanked out."
"It seems you were experiencing a little of what our friends outside are, Ray. There is something unnatural in all of this, and I don't think we have to look very far for the source of it."
"Jesus?"
"Yes, Jesus. The anti-Christ is making his move. It's some move, if I do say so."
"I don't know what might have happened if you two hadn't been here,” Ray said, still feeling the residue of his odd experience. How easy it had been to succumb to those primal urges, he marveled.
He rose quickly from his chair, the pistol still in his hand. Harold and Arnold started toward him, instinctively.
"It's alright, gentlemen. I'm okay.” He looked at the pistol in his hand, and put it down on his desk. Then he opened the door and called out to the staff, “I want all of you to leave now. There is a mob advancing toward us. Get your families and try to find a place of safety, if you can."
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