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

by Mark Goodwin

  Michelle complied. Roy and Billy also helped load the backpacks into the cab. They managed to get everything except the .50 cal into the vehicle. Even though it was a Mega Cab, it was still a tight fit with five people inside. No sooner had Emilio pulled the door shut than the skies opened up, and a torrential downpour began. Only this was no ordinary rain, it was blood!

  Billy watched the phenomenon with his eyes open almost as widely as his mouth. Mackenzie asked him, “So, are you ready to have that little chat you promised me?”

  He watched the windshield completely blacked out by the crimson fluid coming down from the angry heavens. He glanced at Mackenzie with a look of shock and nodded.

  “What about you, Roy? Are you ready to believe?” she asked.

  Roy scratched his bald head. “I’ll admit, your timing is downright impeccable, but there has to be a logical explanation for all of this.”

  Mackenzie said, “Yeah, we’re living through the Great Tribulation, the last three and a half years of the present age.”

  “Hit the windshield wipers.” Emilio pointed to the dashboard.

  Roy turned them on also utilizing the washer fluid jets. In a fleeting glimpse of visibility, Emilio saw the first ball of fire descending from the sky. Emilio pressed the talk key on his radio. “Everyone, fire is coming from the sky! We need to get off of the side of the road. Pull to the middle. If the trees catch fire, we’ll be in an oven.”

  Hinkle responded to Emilio’s call. “Do what he says, but then stay put. We have zero visibility, and we’ll be crashing into one another left and right if we try to go anywhere.”

  The storm of blood and fire continued through the night. Intermittent waves of hail accompanied the strange atmospheric disturbances, beating on the hood and roof of the pickup like drums of war. Everyone on the mission was trapped in the vehicles, helpless to do anything except watch the onslaught of destruction. Fires raged through the forests on both sides of the road. Fire fell on the vehicles also but quickly burned out. Inside of the cab was like an oven. Everyone panted for air. Sweat ran down their foreheads and clothing became soaking wet. Emilio prayed for protection. Mackenzie explained to Billy everything that she knew about the Bible and the end times.

  ***

  The next morning, the storm of blood and fire subsided. The members of Emilio’s team were finally able to open the windows and get some air. The smoky smell from outside more closely resembled that of burnt meat than of a campfire. Emilio opened the door and stepped out. The ground was covered with a thin crust of baked blood. It crackled with each step. The stubs of the trees on each side of the road still smoldered, their gray smoke spiraling toward the bleak sky.

  Hinkle walked up from the line of vehicles parked behind the Dodge. “Looks like we made it. All the vehicles are still intact.”

  “Good,” said Emilio.

  Mackenzie exited the truck and joined the two men. “Are we going to head back now?”

  Hinkle looked at Emilio and shook his head. “No. We’re more than halfway there. Plus, they’ll be reeling from the storm. We can use that to our advantage. We can be there by mid-afternoon, set up camp, do some recon, and have an attack plan ready to execute by tomorrow at sunset.”

  “Emilio, you have to say something!” Mackenzie wrinkled her brow.

  Emilio stared at the scorched ground, then glanced up to her. “He’s right. They won’t be expecting an attack right now.”

  She argued, “The next trumpet will bring a colossal asteroid, and it will land in the ocean. If that ocean happens to be the Atlantic, we could very well be swept away by a tsunami.”

  Emilio put his hand on her shoulder. “And then we’ll be home. This tragic mess will all be in the rearview for you and me.”

  She crossed her arms. “Believe me, I have no affinity for this God-forsaken planet, but that sounds like an awful way to go.”

  Emilio continued to make his case. “We won’t be there long. Plus, we don’t even know that it will be the Atlantic. This is our best possible window of opportunity. The empire will be trying to regroup after the blood and fire.”

  Hinkle looked at Mackenzie. “Once we get there, you can stand watch over the camp if you want, but we can’t turn back.”

  She huffed and returned to the truck. “No, if I’m getting dragged along, then I want to be where the action is.”

  Hinkle slapped Emilio on the shoulder. “Pinned up in a cave with that one for six months, no wonder you think it’s the end of days.”

  “Yeah.” Emilio headed back to the truck.

  Hinkle addressed all of the group members over the radio. “We survived. Let’s get our gear situated and prepare to move out in ten minutes.”

  ***

  Billy drove with Emilio riding shotgun for the final leg of the trip. They slowed down considerably when they entered what had once been a population zone. The crumbled ruins of the big cities looked even more hopeless after being coated in a singed layer of charred blood. They saw no signs of peacekeepers as they drove through Newark and civilian gangs seemed unwilling to tangle with the big four-wheel-drive truck which had a machine gun mounted on the roof.

  Emilio called over the radio, “We’re at the Holland Tunnel. I think we should walk it on foot to see the condition. It will be much easier to back out if it’s a mess down there. For all we know, it’s completely immersed in water.”

  “10-4,” replied Hinkle.

  Emilio pressed the talk key once more. “I think we’ve been good sports about being the cheese so far in this operation. But now we’re here. We’re getting a lot of stares from armed locals. These people look like extras from the set of Mad Max. I’d rather not tempt fate. We’d appreciate it if you’d send a couple more fire teams up here.”

  “Done,” said Hinkle. “Jerry, Kevin, take your vehicles up to the front of the line. Give Emilio whatever support he needs.”

  A voice quickly replied, “10-4.” Another echoed the response, “Roger that, top.”

  Soon, a two-and-a-half-ton military transport truck and a Humvee pulled up behind the Dodge. Emilio got out of the vehicle. He looked back at the bed of the truck where Mackenzie was manning the Browning machine gun. “Are you okay up there?”

  “I’ve got this,” she said.

  Billy walked around to the back of the truck. “Why don’t you come down? I’ll take over. You’ve got to be tired.”

  “If you insist.” Mackenzie climbed down from the truck bed.

  Emilio pointed at the troops coming from the back-up units. “Half of you keep watch here, the other half, follow me.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Mackenzie walked beside Emilio into the dark tunnel.

  Eight other members of the group followed them. Emilio shined his flashlight at cracks in the walls of the tunnel where water was trickling down. He directed the beam farther down their path. “Standing water.”

  Mackenzie shined her light at the ceiling. “Maybe it’s not too deep.”

  “We’re going to have to walk through it to make sure. Plus, there could be obstructions not visible, unless we’re right on top of them.” Emilio waded into the cold dark water. He turned back to his team. “I’ll check it out. No sense in everyone getting their boots wet.”

  Mackenzie followed in after him. “You need at least one person with you.”

  “Thanks.” Emilio shuffled his feet to inspect for objects below the surface. The water was far too murky to see through. At its deepest point, the water came just over his knees. Then the asphalt began to rise back toward the surface. He and Mackenzie walked the length of the flooded section. Once at the end, they could see the exit of the tunnel. “I think all the vehicles should be able to make it across.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m just worried about what we’ll see on the other side.”

  “That’s the hot zone. I don’t think we’ll be meeting much opposition in lower Manhattan.” Emilio turned around and headed back through the chilly murk.


  Hinkle’s voice came over the radio, “Emilio, you need to get this convoy moving right now! We’ve got a peacekeeper patrol coming up from behind us! They’ve probably already spotted some of our vehicles, but I certainly don’t want them to see our numbers.”

  Emilio pressed the talk key. “All the vehicles should make it through the tunnel. Billy, pick us up inside.”

  Emilio held Mackenzie’s hand for support until they reached dry ground. They saw the headlights of the Dodge racing toward them and waved. Billy stopped. The two got inside and slammed the doors shut.

  Hinkle gave out another command. “First four vehicles through the tunnel set up an ambush on the other side. We’ll lead them to you and cut our Humvee sideways so they’ll be trapped.”

  Billy raced out of the Holland Tunnel. Emilio called out directions from the back seat. “Circle around, we can set up over the top of the ramp. We’ll be in position to hit them from above.”

  Billy followed the directions and pulled to the edge of the Canal Street barrier overlooking the exit of the tunnel. Everyone hurried out of the cab to get into attack position.

  “Billy, you and Roy take the big gun,” said Emilio. “Billy, you shoot. Roy, you make sure he has plenty of ammo.”

  “Roger that,” said Roy.

  Three more vehicles followed the Dodge to the ambush location. The first was a Humvee. Dom, Lisa, Sean, and Click rolled out and quickly got into position. The next two were a lifted F-150 along with a Deuce and a Half. Members of the Kentucky Militia poured out of those.

  Emilio counted the remaining vehicles coming out of the tunnel. He pressed his talk key. “Hinkle, I still don’t see you.”

  Hinkle’s signal was broken, perhaps from transmitting inside the tunnel. “We’re at the back of the line. Making sure you folks had time to get set up.”

  “We’re ready when you are,” Emilio replied.

  “Here they come!” yelled Billy.

  Emilio and Mackenzie took aim through the black iron bars above the concrete barricades overlooking the tunnel exit. Emilio saw Hinkle’s Humvee come out followed by four gray SUVs with the red dragon icons on the hoods. The firing line erupted, raining down a hail of bullets upon the unsuspecting peacekeeper patrols.

  Emilio shouted to Billy, “Focus your fire on the rear vehicle. If you can take out the driver or disable the SUV, we can cut off their possibility of retreat!”

  “Roger that!” Billy kept shooting, killing the driver, and flattening the tires of the rear patrol.

  Several of the Boogaloo fighters from the other vehicles exited their vehicles and began descending down the ramp to finish off the stragglers trapped inside the Global Order SUVs.

  “Cease fire!” Emilio called to his unit so they would not endanger the lives of the Boogaloo teams.

  Once all the enemy troops were dead, the Boogaloo group began opening the doors of the SUVs. They pulled out the dead peacekeepers and stripped them of weapons, ammunition, and anything deemed valuable.

  Hinkle stood next to his Humvee and called out to the looters. “Get some of those uniforms, also. Even if they’ve got holes in them and blood all over. We can wash and sew ‘em up if we need to. Never know when somethin’ like that might come in handy. And make it snappy. We need to be out of the area by the time backup arrives.”

  “Where to next?” Emilio yelled down from the street above Hinkle’s vehicle.

  “Follow Canal to West Street. Take that south. Let’s hope we have the same luck getting through the Carey Tunnel over to Brooklyn. No time to inspect it. You’ll just have to cross your fingers and drive.”

  Emilio didn’t like that plan at all. But given the circumstances, they had few options. “Load up! I’m driving. Roy and Billy stay with the .50 in case we run into more trouble.”

  Mackenzie took the passenger’s seat and Michelle got in the back. Emilio put the truck in gear and pressed the accelerator. They reached the Carey Tunnel in a matter of minutes. Emilio turned on the headlights and began his descent into the dark leaky tube. The truck was soon driving through standing water which got deeper and deeper. Emilio slowed to a crawl as the water hit his bumper.

  “The water is going to stall the engine! We have to stop!” Mackenzie said.

  Emilio pointed to the snorkel protruding over the hood. “We should be okay as long as the engine is getting air through that tube.”

  Michelle said, “Water is seeping in through the bottom of the door.”

  Emilio pressed the talk key. “Hinkle, any vehicles that don’t have snorkels are never going to make it through this tunnel. The water is deep. I’m not even sure we’ll make it.”

  “Roger,” said Hinkle. “We stash vehicles with no snorkel and hitch rides with those who do. Keep driving and let us know when you make it out.”

  Emilio kept the speed at under ten miles per hour. The tunnel seemed to go on forever. But finally, he saw the dim light of the surface. He noticed the water level getting lower. Soon, they were on dry ground. He pressed the talk key. “We made it! We’re in Brooklyn.”

  “Good. Find a place to sit tight until the rest of us get over,” said Hinkle.

  CHAPTER 20

  As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

  Jeremiah 49:18

  With the remaining vehicles of the convoy behind him, Emilio drove quickly but cautiously through the streets of Brooklyn. Many of the roadways had never been cleared after the quake. On Hinkle’s recommendation, Emilio attempted to lead the convoy north and west. It was Hinkle’s thinking that these areas were the most likely places to find shelter since they were farthest away from the barrier islands where the tsunami had struck.

  “The waterline is about two feet up on most of the buildings around here,” said Emilio.

  “We’re at least five miles away from where the wave broke,” said Michelle. “It must have been a monster.”

  Mackenzie pointed out the front windshield. “That hospital is still partially standing!”

  “Good find,” said Emilio. “We’ll check it out.” He drove around the perimeter of the property and pressed the mic button on his transceiver. “Hinkle, we’ve got a parking garage over here. It might be a good spot to lay low. At least get out of sight for a while if they send out choppers looking for us.”

  “It’s still standing?”

  “The bottom two levels are.”’

  Hinkle replied, “My concern is that another aftershock could flatten the rest of the structure.”

  “I can’t deny that,” said Emilio. “But we’re sitting ducks out here in the open with military vehicles. If helicopters spot us, we’ll never escape.”

  “Go ahead. Get the trucks out of sight. We’ll look for a more secure place to rest our weary heads later.”

  “10-4.” Emilio pulled into the garage. A long fracture ran diagonally from the corner of the ground level to where the fourth level had collapsed on top of the third.

  Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “This place looks sturdy enough.”

  Emilio watched through the rearview while the other vehicles from the convoy followed him in. Seconds later, he heard the familiar sound of helicopter rotors flying low overhead. “At least if the garage falls on us, it will be quick.”

  Michelle exited the vehicle and looked around. “Not necessarily. You could get trapped in an air pocket and live for a week before you finally die of dehydration.”

  Mackenzie climbed out and shut her door. “It’s always good to have an optimist in the bunch.”

  The other members of the group also came out of their vehicles. All had their rifles ready for another confrontation with Alexander’s thugs.

  Hinkle parked next to the Dodge. The Kentucky Militia members with Hinkle stood guard next to Emilio’s team. Emilio asked Hinkle, “What did you do with the other trucks?”

  “Parked them behind a pile of rubble in Battery Par
k. It might not be a bad idea to have a contingency plan for when it’s time to leave anyway.”

  “Yeah,” said Emilio. “If the trucks are still there. I’ve seen some pretty desperate looking folks lurking inside windows. They’re watching us; seeing what we have that might be worth taking.”

  “Let’s just hope none of them saw where I hid the spark plugs,” said Hinkle.

  “That might help,” Emilio replied.

  “I’ll draw you a map later on after things quiet down. Then, you’ll be able to start one if everything goes to heck and we get split up.”

  The helicopters continued circling overhead well into the night hours. A few patrols drove past, but none inspected the parking garage. More than an hour had passed since the last flyover. “I guess they’ve given up on us for now,” Emilio said to Hinkle.

  “Yep. I suppose none of them bothered looking in here because they thought no one could be stupid enough to set foot in this death trap.” Hinkle used a flashlight with a red light filter on the front to inspect the crumbling concrete overhead. “Emilio, why don’t you assign a watch schedule? No less than ten people on guard at a time. Even if the peacekeepers don’t find us, we could still get hit by one of these local gangs.”

  “10-4, we’ll take first watch.” Emilio walked by the various groups all huddled near their respective vehicles.

  Mackenzie trailed close behind. “Why are we taking first watch?”

  “Because I’m assigning the schedule. I’ve gotta lead by example.”

  She argued, “We just drove across the country as the cheese. I think we’ve earned our spot on the team by now. Besides, you’re like an urban legend to most of these people.”

  “Still, I’m the new guy. And if I’m handing out orders, I need to show that I’ll work as hard as anyone else in the group.” Emilio arrived at the Dodge, retrieved a note pad, and began writing out a schedule.

  ***