Tribulation: An Apocalyptic End-Times Thriller (Kingdom of Darkness Book 1)

by Mark Goodwin

  “Is that on Earth or in Heaven?”

  “Earth, I guess. Before that, God tells the angels in charge of pouring out His wrath upon the world, not to harm the earth until they are sealed. I don’t suppose that would make any sense if these Jews were already in Heaven.”

  Emilio thought about everything she was saying. “Yeah, I guess not.” He was anxious to read the text for himself.

  He walked in quiet contemplation of what was coming for the next mile or so. “So, these Jews that are sealed, is that like saved?”

  “The text refers to them as the servants of God. I’d say that’s correct.”

  “But all the Jews in Israel think Alexander is the Messiah. They would have to accept Jesus as being the true Messiah to be saved. How is that going to happen?”

  “My dad told me that the nation of Israel will turn on Alexander when he puts an end to their sacrifices in the new Temple. Also, he’ll set up an abominable image in the Temple which is also going to make the Jews lose faith in him.”

  “Does this coincide with Alexander breaking the covenant? Is this the mid-point of the seven-year timeline?”

  “I guess.”

  “Good.” Emilio nodded.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because we have at least until then before the next wave of destruction.”

  “Assuming all the prophecies are chronological.”

  “They have been so far,” said Emilio.

  “So far,” she conceded. “At least according to our very limited understanding of these events.”

  He asked, “When did you say the mid-point is supposed to come?”

  “I don’t know. March, I think.”

  “You think, but you’re not sure?”

  “No. My dad had all of that stuff written out in the back of his Bible.”

  “Which he gave to Josh,” said Emilio. “The UEA took it when they raided the camp in Indiana.”

  She said, “If I had a notebook and a calendar, I think I could re-create the timeline. The Bible gives you the specific amount of days.”

  “That’s all in Revelation?”

  “And another book.” She shook her head as if straining to remember. “I can’t think of the name of it.”

  “Daniel?” asked Emilio.

  “Yeah, maybe. Why did you say that?”

  “I just had a fleeting memory from one of Josh’s Bible studies. I wish I could remember the chapters.”

  “We’ve got it narrowed down to the book. That’s a really good start.”

  Emilio paused at the site of a horrific multi-car accident. “Wow. I wonder what caused this one.”

  “A vehicle crossed over from the north-bound lane.” Mackenzie pointed to a minivan lying on its side and facing their direction. The vehicle was otherwise undamaged. However, other automobiles had apparently tried to swerve to miss the minivan. Several of them had collided, rolled, caught on fire, and been hit by no less than ten other cars and trucks causing a massive pileup. Flies swarmed around two of the vehicles. The corpses of the drivers had been left behind the wheel to rot.

  Emilio veered away from the unsightly location as well as the foul stench that accompanied it. Mackenzie looked into the unbroken front windshield of the minivan lying on its side. “Looks like they were raptured. I think we should check it out. I see two backpacks inside.”

  Emilio peered in also. The seatbelts of both front seats were still buckled. In the back, he saw two children’s seats. One for a toddler and one for a slightly bigger child. A large red backpack lay next to bigger gray one. Beside them were two smaller packs; one green with dinosaurs, the other pink with a rabbit’s face complete with furry ears protruding off the surface of the bag. He blinked away a tear forming in his eye. He didn’t feel sympathy for the family—quite the contrary. The sweet notion of them all being caught up together tugged at his heartstrings. He only wished that he’d been ready…so he could have gone with Nicole.

  “Give me a hand getting up onto the side, will you?” Mackenzie waited for Emilio to put his hands together like a loop for her to put her foot into. When he did, she stepped into it and hoisted herself up onto the minivan. She used the butt of her pistol to knock out the glass and drop down into the vehicle. She tossed all of the backpacks out of the vehicle. Emilio caught them and placed them next to the roof.

  Mackenzie also found a gallon of water in the minivan. She handed it over to Emilio and crawled back out. She unceremoniously dumped the contents of the red pack onto the asphalt. Emilio looked on seeing that this had likely been the belongings of the mother.

  He opened the gray bag and treated the belongings with the dignity one might ascribe to the effects of the dead. He held up a tee-shirt. The man had obviously been a rather large fellow.

  “It will fit you.” Mackenzie said. “You need to get out of those clothes you’re wearing and burn them. Mom’s stuff looks like it might be a little baggy on me, but I’m not going to be picky. I’m going over into those trees to change. I’ll be back.”

  Emilio scanned the area but saw no reason to be concerned. He found a pair of jeans in the bag, clean socks, even a pair of boxers. He looked around to make sure he was alone, then exchanged his smelly duds for the fresh ones.

  Mackenzie returned minutes later. “It’s not a hot shower, but I suppose it’s the second-best thing.”

  Emilio frowned at the brash method in which Mackenzie emptied the contents of the children’s backpacks. Mackenzie caught the look of displeasure. “What?”

  “I don’t know, that was somebody’s stuff.”

  “Yeah, somebody eating pie in the sky with Jesus right now. They didn’t even have to die to get there. Like I said before, if you need to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for you and me.” Mackenzie emptied the pink bunny, tossing a stuffed bear to the side. She filled the pack with the remainder of her loot from the garbage bag. “Trust me, this little girl isn’t missing her teddy bear.”

  Emilio managed to fit all of his items into the gray pack and the red pack. “Fine, let’s just get back on the road. I think we can make it to the cave by sunset if we keep moving.”

  Mackenzie took the red pack to wear on her back. She gave the dusty blue duffle to Emilio to carry. The two of them tightened the straps of their bags and set out to finish the trip.

  Emilio gave a tremendous sigh of relief when they reached the Park City exit. “We did it! We’re only a few miles away!”

  “Let’s not open the champagne just yet.” Mackenzie retained a cynical expression on her face.

  “You’re right. We’re not there until we’re there.” Emilio tempered his enthusiasm. After all, the entrance to the cave could be collapsed.

  Mackenzie trudged slowly down the cracked pavement of the exit. “I vote we break for dinner once we get far enough away from the interstate. Even if we manage to get to the camp with no other problems, we’ve got hours of work carting supplies from the depths of the cave up to the living quarters.”

  “We can take a break to eat,” said Emilio. “But, I’ve got no energy to be carting supplies tonight. We’ll make one run to get a stove, the camping shower, and some sleeping bags. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

  “Agreed.” Mackenzie continued into the cover of the woods and plopped down on the ground.

  Emilio followed close behind and dropped his bags. He lay on his back, simply enjoying being off of his feet for a moment before breaking into his food supplies.

  After eating, he looked over at Mackenzie who was lounging with her boots off, and her eyes closed. “We should start moving. The sun is already beginning to set.”

  She opened her eyes toward the hazy sky. “I didn’t realize it ever came up.”

  He stood and slung the pack over his shoulder. “It didn’t, but that doesn’t stop it from going down.”

  Immediately upon leaving the spot where they’d taken the short break, they came to a cemetery. More than two-thirds of the graves were open. D
irt was piled up around them as if they’d exploded from inside. “What kind of evil being would do such a thing?” Even in the midst of the last days, Emilio could not imagine such barbaric acts.

  “I don’t think people did this.”

  He turned to her and lowered his brows. “What do you mean?”

  “My dad, he said the dead would be resurrected at the rapture. I think these empty graves are those of Christians. It’s the people still buried that you should be concerned for.”

  He had to tear his eyes away from the disturbing sight, and his mind from the thoughts of horror for those condemned to eternal punishment. “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER 14

  But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

  Psalm 38:19

  They walked in silence for the next mile. Finally, they came to Cedar Hill Church Road. Emilio said, “This is it. Another mile or so, and we’re home.”

  No sooner had they turned onto the road than Emilio heard a voice call from the tree line. “Face down, on the ground!”

  He stopped in his tracks. He looked around at the trees on both sides.

  Another voice from the opposite side of the road said, “Do it now! You’re surrounded!”

  Mackenzie already had her hand on her pistol. She looked to Emilio for instruction. He shook his head. He whispered to her, “We don’t have a chance.”

  “What if they’re bluffing?” she asked.

  Automatic gunfire rang out.

  Emilio pulled her to the ground and covered his head.

  The first voice yelled, “We’re not bluffing, in case that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Emilio was on one knee, holding Mackenzie close to himself. “We’re just passing through. We’re not here to cause trouble.”

  “If that’s true, we’ll be happy to let you go. But you’re in our AO, and we like to know who our neighbors are.”

  Mackenzie whispered, “What’s an AO?”

  “Area of operation,” said Emilio.

  “Last chance,” yelled the voice. “No more warning shots. Either get face down, or we’ll put you there.”

  Emilio reluctantly lay prone on the asphalt and put his hands on his head. Mackenzie followed his lead. Her eyes showed her pain. “We were so close—so close.”

  Eight militants in full military dress, four from each side of the road, emerged from the tree lines with rifles ready. Emilio felt the pressure of one of the men’s knees in the center of his back while wrist restraints were placed on his hands. They cut the straps of his pack, removed his gun, and rolled him over onto his back while they searched his front pockets.

  The wiry man handling Emilio held up the badge he’d taken from Combs. “Dom, Looks like we caught ourselves a soupy.”

  “That’s not mine!” argued Emilio.

  “Shut up!” The thin militant banged Emilio in the mouth with the butt of his rifle.

  The hefty woman searching Mackenzie took the shield from her pocket. “Two of them.”

  Dom had sandy blonde hair, a muscular build, and eyes that had seen more than their fair share of fighting. “Stand ‘em up. Let’s get ‘em to Hinkle.”

  “Hinkle?” protested the wiry one. “Let’s shoot them here and now.”

  “They might have information,” said Dom. “I’m sure Hinkle will let you pull the trigger when it’s time. Come on, get ‘em up, and let’s get back to the igloo.”

  Emilio tasted the blood in his mouth. He checked each of his front teeth with his tongue to see if any were loose.

  “What’s an igloo? Where are you taking us?” Mackenzie asked the thick girl pushing her toward the trees.

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” said the woman.

  The trail led to a paved road. Emilio knew they were inside the boundaries to the national park and guessed that it was the road to Mammoth Cave. They followed it for two more miles and came to an encampment set up around the entrance to Mammoth Cave. Modified civilian vehicles were parked all around. People in military gear came in and out of the entrance to the cavern. He and Mackenzie were led down the stairs and inside the cave. They were taken about 200 feet inside and put into an area with lots of crates, boxes, building materials, and furniture. The two of them were chained to a massive metal ring that had been secured into the rock of the floor.

  Dom adjusted his chest rig and slung his rifle over his shoulder. “You’ll have to excuse the mess. We’re still getting situated.”

  “What are you going to do with us?” Mackenzie asked.

  “We’re going to ask you some questions. Then, we’re going to kill you.”

  She pleaded, “We don’t know anything. Those weren’t our badges. We’re not who you think we are.”

  “I don’t think that’s true. I think you work for Unity Enforcement, and I think you’re traveling to a nearby base that you believe survived the quake. I think you’re going to tell us where it is, then I’m going to let Sean put a bullet in your head.”

  She continued, “If we are who you think, why would we tell you anything if you’re just going to shoot us anyway?”

  Dom laughed. He looked at Emilio. “He knows. Why don’t you ask him?” Dom turned his back on them. As he walked away he said, “Hinkle will be around in a while. Take my advice. Don’t make him work too hard to get that information.”

  She looked over at Emilio. “What is he talking about?”

  “Torture.” Emilio sighed. “We’ll be begging them to kill us if we can’t tell them what they want to know.”

  Her face became contorted by worry. “What’s a soupy? Who do they think we are?”

  “Alphabet soup. GHS, UEA. I think they’re with the Boogaloo movement.”

  “Are you being silly right now? Because this is no time for absurdities.”

  “No. It’s a real thing. The Electric Boogaloo was a movie in the 80s. It was the sequel to Breakin’, which was an 80’s breakdance movie. So, the Electric Boogaloo Breakin’ Two. Somewhere along the line, the Electric Boogaloo became the moniker for the Second American Civil War.”

  “I don’t get it. What does one have to do with the other?”

  “Electric Boogaloo was such a horrible movie that it became the tag name for any bad sequel.”

  “And you know all of this how?”

  “Back when I was with DHS, the agency put out a memo on the Boogaloo Movement. Lots of anti-government types. A large portion of them were ex-military. A few of them even attacked police officers. They first sprouted up after Virginia tried to ban assault weapons. But Boogaloo is a big tent, sort of like the Tea Party or Libertarians; everybody has their own idea about what it means. You had some that were just patriots drawing a line in the sand for their rights while others wanted to actively incite a second civil war.”

  She interrupted, “So, how do we convince them not to kill us?”

  “We have to explain how we got the badges and hope they’ll believe us.”

  A grizzled old man walked in. He wore a camo jacket and matching pants which were tucked into his combat boots. “These morons put ‘em both in the same room.” He pointed at the two militants behind him. “Jessica, get the female down the hall. David, you go with her in case the girl gives Jess any trouble.”

  “Yes, sir,” said the man who was plump with a bald head.

  The old man pulled up a chair and turned it backward before sitting down in it. “Tell me, friend, what are you doing in my neck of the woods?”

  “Like I told your scouts, we’re just passing through. The badges they found on us aren’t ours. We were using them to get past peacekeepers. Look at the photo on the badge wallet. It looks nothing like me. Plus, the guy's height; I’m well over six feet. He couldn’t have been more than 5’10”, 5’11” at the most. Besides all that, I’m Mexican. That guy is whiter than a loaf of Wonder Bread.” Emilio looked at another old soldier walking in. He wore combat fatigues with US Army insignia. He had a buzz cut, an
underbite, and a long neck that protruded forward. The angled neck was accentuated by the lack of hair on his head.

  Emilio’s eyes glanced back at the man sitting in front of him. “Unless this is some kind of Arian Nation compound—then, forget what I just said about being Hispanic.”

  One corner of the man’s hard mouth turned upward. “No. We ain’t that kind of outfit. But that don’t mean you’re out of the woods.” He picked up the badge wallet and inspected the ID card inside. “This ain’t you.” He clapped the wallet shut and stared into Emilio’s eyes. “So if you’re not Agent Combs, how did you happen to come into possession of his effects?”

  “We were in his custody when the quake hit; in a transport van headed to Indianapolis. The van was tossed into the air, and we were knocked out. The back doors were knocked open by the impact, and we escaped.”

  “Afterwards, you took his badge.” The man looked at the two Glock 17s on the table where the badge had been. “And service pistol, I assume.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Emilio.

  “What did UEA want with you?”

  “A few things,” said Emilio.

  “Let’s hear ‘em.”

  Emilio looked at the weathered soldier standing behind the old man. “It might sound a little farfetched.”

  “Try me.” The old man crossed his arms. “It ain’t like your situation is going to get any worse than it already is.”

  “I was part of a resistance group; a small group. We teamed up with some other folks from around the country for that big hit against the Globalplex.”

  “The news said everyone from that operation was killed.”

  Emilio shook his head. “They lied. And they knew there were survivors. One of our team members was captured. We ran a secondary operation to break her out of prison.”

  “Was that the big jailbreak at the women’s prison in California?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Must have been someone pretty special.”

  “She was my wife.” Emilio swallowed hard and looked at the floor of the cave.