True Light
Page 1
ACCLAIM FOR TERRI BLACKSTOCK
“ . . . [Last Light] is in league with first-rate adventure fiction and bodes well for the series to come.”
— Publishers Weekly
“A popular suspense author, Blackstock combines fast pacing with relationship threads in the fourth series entry (after True Light). This title should find its way onto public library shelves.”
— Library Journal (on Dawn’s Light)
“The Restoration series comes to a dramatic end. Blackstock is absolutely masterful at bringing spiritual dilemmas to the surface and allowing readers to wrestle with them alongside her characters. This is a fitting conclusion to this unique series.”
— RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars (on Dawn’s Light)
“Truth Stained Lies is the first in what’s likely to be a very popular new series for Blackstock. Her characters are flawed, faltering in their faith, and ultimately human. They’re the kind of people you wish you had as friends. This latest novel should appeal to millions of existing fans and millions of new fans who just don’t know it yet.”
— CBA Retailers + Resources
“Short chapters and terse dialogue propel the fast-paced action . . . [and] the mother-daughter relationship strikes true emotional notes; the redemptive arc of evangelical Christian fiction is natural and resonant in a story of addiction. Blackstock’s many fans will be pleased, and this story will also speak to families dealing with addicted children.”
— Publishers Weekly (on Intervention)
“The second in Blackstock’s Intervention series is a fast-paced thriller . . . the portrayal of the dangers of drug abuse and the effects after rehab are fascinating.”
— Romantic Times (on Vicious Cycle)
“Crisp prose, an engaging story, and brisk pacing make this thriller another home run for Blackstock. Recommend it to readers who enjoy material by Lynette Eason and Erin Healy.”
— Library Journal (on Downfall)
“Shadow in Serenity from New York Times best-selling author Terri Blackstock won’t disappoint. It features page-turning suspense, believable characters, a straightforward but non-preachy Christian message of redemption, and just enough romance to satisfy without being sappy. Blackstock is a masterful writer; highly recommend this excellent title to fiction fans.”
— CBA Retailers + Resources
“Blackstock’s superior writing will keep readers turning pages late into the night to discover the identity of the culprit in this amazing mystery. The unique setting and peek into the Nashville music scene are fascinating. Suspense lovers are in for a delightful treat.”
— RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars TOP PICK! (on Double Minds, 2009 Nomination for Best Inspirational Novel)
ALSO BY TERRI BLACKSTOCK
THE MOONLIGHTERS SERIES
1 Truth Stained Lies
2 Distortion (Available Spring 2014)
THE RESTORATION SERIES
1 Last Light
2 Night Light
3 True Light
4 Dawn’s Light
THE INTERVENTION SERIES
1 Intervention
2 Vicious Cycle
3 Downfall
THE CAPE REFUGE SERIES
1 Cape Refuge
2 Southern Storm
3 River’s Edge
4 Breaker’s Reef
NEWPOINTE 911
1 Private Justice
2 Shadow of Doubt
3 Word of Honor
4 Trial by Fire
5 Line of Duty
THE SUN COAST CHRONICLES
1 Evidence of Mercy
2 Justifiable Means
3 Ulterior Motives
4 Presumption of Guilt
SECOND CHANCES
1 Never Again Good-bye
2 When Dreams Cross
3 Blind Trust
4 Broken Wings
WITH BEVERLY LAHAYE
1 Seasons Under Heaven
2 Showers in Season
3 Times and Seasons
4 Seasons of Blessing
NOVELLAS
Seaside
OTHER BOOKS
Shadow in Serenity
Predator
Double Minds
Soul Restoration
Emerald Windows
Miracles (The Listener/The Gifted)
The Heart Reader of Franklin High
The Gifted Sophomores
Covenant Child
Sweet Delights
ZONDERVAN
True Light
Copyright © 2007 by Terri Blackstock
ePub Edition © May 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-29615-7
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blackstock, Terri.
True Light / Terri Blackstock.
p. cm. — (A restoration novel ; bk.3)
ISBN 978-0-310-25769-1
1. Regression (Civilization) — Fiction. I. Title. II. Series: Blackstock, Terri, 1957–
Restoration novel ; bk. 3.
PS3552.L34285T78 2007
813’.54 — dc22
2007006670
All Scripture quotations are taken from:
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
New American Standard Bible, NASB. © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com
ISBN 978-0-3103-3780-5 (2013 repackage)
13 14 15 16 17 /RRD/ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is lovingly dedicated to the Nazarene.
Contents
DEAR READER
CAST OF CHARACTERS
PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-SIX
FORTY-EIGHT
FORTY-NINE
FIFTY
FIFTY-ONE
FIFTY-TWO
FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-FOUR
FIFTY-FIVE
FIFTY-SIX
FIFTY-SEVEN
FIFTY-EIGHT
FIFTY-NINE
SIXTY
SIXTY-ONE
SIXTY-TWO
SIXTY-THREE
SIXTY-FOUR
SIXTY-FIVE
SIXTY-SIX
SIXTY-SEVEN
SIXTY-EIGHT
SIXTY-NINE
SEVENTY
SEVENTY-ONE
SEVENTY-TWO
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
READING GROUP GUIDE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
AN EXCERPT FROM DAWN’S LIGHT
PROLOGUE
ONE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEAR READER
THANK YOU FOR READING MY RESTORATION SERIES. I got the idea for these books as the world was preparing for “Y2K.” The world was expecting a huge catastrophe as the clocks turned from 1999 to 2000. Computers were expected to crash, power grids to shut down, and the world as we knew it might come to an end. We all sat around our televisions the night of New Year’s Eve, bracing ourselves for darkness. That darkness never came, and the catastrophe didn’t happen. But the thought of what might have happened continued to germinate in my brain.
I asked a physicist friend of mine what kind of event could knock out our power grid and fry all our technology, and he told me to research electromagnetic pulses. These pulses could be caused by different things—solar flares, celestial events, E-bombs, and nuclear weapons exploding in our upper atmosphere. As I read and studied these situations and their repercussions, I became more and more aware that these things were real threats to our way of life.
At the same time, I was troubled spiritually by the cultural decline in America. Families (including my own) seemed to be eating most meals in their cars between ballet and soccer practice, the children were glued to video games and television, and parents were distracted by their smart phones. Our comfort had numbed us to the things God wanted to do in our lives. I became convicted that He was going to have to do something drastic to America to get our attention. What would that be? Would it be war? Famine? A nuclear attack?
That’s when I decided to flesh out the idea for the Restoration Series and challenge a spoiled American family with a massive global power outage. The Brannings, who’d been used to fast food and take-out, now have to grow their own food and find water. Their cars don’t run, their jobs are gone, the banks are closed, there’s no communication . . . and this family has to decide if they will hoard what they have or share with their neighbors, when sharing might lead to their own starvation. All around them are desperate people, some willing to kill for food or the opportunity to get ahead.
Since I wrote these books years ago, there have been variations of this theme in television series and books by other authors. Mine are different because I chose not to focus on the military aspect, but on the changing character of the people suffering through this disaster. I fell in love with these characters as I wrote the four-book series, and so did many of my readers. Several years since the series was first released, people are still buying the books and sharing them with their friends. For that reason, we’ve decided to give the series a second life with new covers and a re-launch that will give new readers an opportunity to discover them. It’s my hope that “rehearsing” this catastrophe with my characters will help prepare readers for catastrophes in their own lives. And if it gets the attention of God’s people before He has to give us a wake-up call . . . well, that would be my idea of true success.
If you like the books, please tell others about them. And if you enjoy the way I tell a story, there are many other books where these came from. Learn more about all of them at http://www.terriblackstock.com/books.
Thanks again for reading my books!
Terri Blackstock
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Branning, Doug — forty-eight, father of four and husband to Kay Branning. He’s a successful stockbroker who’s never known failure until technology comes to an end and he’s forced to provide for and protect his family from the dangers surrounding them. Although the circumstances of life threaten to defeat him when the power goes out, he manages to find the character and strength to do what needs to be done. He commits to studying the word of God, and becomes the pastor of a home church for Christians in his neighborhood.
Branning, Kay — forty-five, Doug’s wife; mother to Deni, Jeff, Beth, and Logan. She was a spoiled soccer mom before the outage, living in a four-thousand-square-foot home with all the bells and whistles, and driving a brand-new Expedition. Now she faces a daily struggle to feed her family and help those around her who have less than she does.
Branning, Deni — twenty-two, Doug and Kay’s spitfire daughter. Just before the outage, she graduated from Georgetown University in broadcast journalism and landed an internship at the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. When the power went out, she was on her way home to plan her wedding to Craig, an attorney who works for a prominent U.S. senator. But after a number of tragedies and trials, as well as an encounter with God, she becomes disillusioned with Craig and breaks off the engagement. Mark Green, a neighbor and high-school friend, begins to win her affections as her priorities change.
Branning, Jeff — sixteen, Doug and Kay’s son. He’s the star pitcher on his high-school baseball team, a true jock and a popular kid at school, but not very accustomed to work. But when the Pulses knock out technology, he’s forced to grow up quickly. Saddled with adult responsibilities and the desire to help protect his family, he becomes a young man of integrity and grit, someone his family and friends can count on.
Branning, Beth — twelve, Doug and Kay’s daughter, who looks up to her older sister. She’s sensitive to the needs of the neighbors and tries to help when she can. She has turned from a pampered princess to a person who puts others’ needs before her own. To distract the neighborhood children from the drudgery of life during the Pulses, she writes, directs, and produces plays that bring the community together.
Branning, Logan — nine, Doug and Kay’s youngest child, who was raised on PlayStation, computers, DVDs, and television, and finds their new way of life boring and unfair. But he’s enjoying spending more time with his dad now that Doug is home most of the time.
Green, Mark — twenty-two, Deni’s friend from high school. He’s good looking, strong, inventive, and skillful. He skipped college and went to work in construction. He’s disliked in the neighborhood because of his dead father’s reputation. But Deni and her family know that Mark is just what he appears to be — a good Christian man who puts others before himself. Mark helped turn Deni from her future with Craig and waits for God’s timing on their relationship with each other.
Horton, Chris — twenty-two, Deni’s best friend from high school, a nurse who works for the only doctor in their area.
Caldwell, Brad — the Brannings’ next-door neighbor, an attorney, a good man but not a Christian. He sets up a “neighborhood watch” in Oak Hollow. An African American, he was initially blamed for the murders and robberies in the neighborhood and was beaten up and almost killed. But he has proven to be a good friend to the Brannings and is Doug’s most trusted partner in fighting the crime that threatens them. His wife, Judith, is a nurse and the mother of Jeremy and Drew (seven and nine). She’s close friends with Kay.
PROLOGUE
ON MAY 24, CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT COMES TO AN END.
Plumbing doesn’t work because the water treatment plants run on electricity. Trucks and trains don’t run, so stores run out of food. Generators are rendered useless. In this major meltdown of life, people are stranded where they are, with no transportation, no power, and no communication. Crime runs rampant as evil fills the void, and desperation becomes the only moral guide m
any people recognize.
Eventually, word makes its way to Crockett, Alabama, that the event was caused by a star — a supernova named SN – 1999 — which is emitting electromagnetic pulses every few seconds. With no assurances of when the star might burn itself out and allow them to rebuild, people are left with a choice: will they hoard what they have until it all runs out, or will they share with those around them who are in need?
The Brannings, an upper middle-class Christian family, struggle to maintain their faith in the midst of the world’s new challenges, and learn the lesson of giving of themselves . . .
Even when it threatens their survival.
ONE
THE BUCK FELL WITH THE FIRST SHOT, AND ZACH EMORY couldn’t help being impressed with himself. From his deer stand, it looked like an eight- or ten-pointer. If the weather stayed cold, he’d be able to make it last for several weeks’ worth of meals.
He climbed down from his deer stand and pulled up the collar of his jacket. It was so cold his ears were numb, and his fingers had begun to ache. But it was worth it. Even in the pre-outage days, Zach had spent many mornings sitting in a deer stand freezing to death, just for sport. Now it was a matter of survival.
He jogged toward the animal that lay dead twenty yards away. His brother Gary would be crazy with envy. They had a competition going, and Gary was two up on him. Zach hoped Gary had heard the gunshot and would come to help him move the deer. It would take both of them to lift it into their rickshaw.
He bent over the buck. Ten points. And a perfect shot right through the heart. His dad would finally be proud, and if he was lucky, his mother would drag herself out of bed to get a look.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see a man emerging from the trees, walking toward him. Zach squinted, trying to place him. He’d seen him before, but he couldn’t remember where.
“Did I score or what?” he asked as the man came closer. “He’s a ten-pointer. Got him in one shot, right through the ticker!”
The man didn’t look like he’d come to celebrate. He stopped about thirty feet away . . . and raised his rifle.
Was he going to shoot? Zach’s hands came up, as if that would stop him.
The gun fired — its impact propelling Zach backward, bouncing him onto the dirt.