by Mark Goodwin
“Roger.” Sarah grabbed Courtney’s belt and hoisted her up as Everett pulled.
Once Courtney was safely up the incline, Everett gave Sarah a hand.
The three of them were soon on top of the ridge, and Everett led the way back to the trail. “Can you run?”
Courtney winced in pain. “I can walk.”
Everett felt anxious but didn’t want to show his high level of concern to the girls. “That’s okay. Sarah, why don’t you go ahead and run back to the cave. Kevin might need some help getting the rest of the ham equipment away from the entrance.”
Sarah paused. “Are you sure? If Courtney can’t walk, you’ll need my help to carry her.”
“I’ll be fine. Go ahead.” Courtney waved her on.
“Alright then. I’ll see you there.” Sarah began sprinting toward the cavern.
“You should go too. Run back. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Courtney pulled her hand away from Everett’s.
“And let you beat me to heaven? Not in a million years.” Everett winked and gave her a smile to lighten the mood.
She grinned and walked beside him. “I love you, Everett Carroll.”
“And I love you, Courtney Carroll.” Everett wrapped his arm around her allowing her to put part of her weight on him so they could move a little faster. His eyes darted back and forth from the sky and the trail, watching for obstacles so they wouldn’t trip. At a glance, he could still see three large fireballs. One of them was competing with the sun, in relative size and brightness, from Everett’s perspective. “We need to get to the cave before that big boy hits.”
Courtney looked up at the giant glowing ball that seemed to float down to earth like a colossal flare. “Okay.”
Everett pushed her to keep going as quickly as possible. “We’re almost there.”
Twenty feet away, a smaller meteor hit. It was only the size of a football when it struck, but the ground trembled beneath their feet.
“There’s the cave! We’re almost home.” Everett held her tightly as she seemed to be getting weaker.
Another distant reverberation shook the earth, evidence of yet one more massive asteroid striking the planet.
Sarah came to the door of the cave. “Do you need some help?”
Courtney’s limp grew worse.
Everett looked up at the mammoth fireball coming closer and closer to the ground. “Yes. Please!”
Sarah jogged over to Courtney and put her arm around her. “I’ve got you.”
Everett held his wife from the opposite side of Sarah as he watched the comet smoke and flare brighter. “We need to run!”
“Okay.” Sarah hurried, in step with Everett.
They reached the mouth of the cave and helped Courtney inside. Sarah followed her in, and Everett entered last.
“Get back! Everybody! All the way back to the cathedral!” Everett helped Courtney limp to the innermost area of the cavern.
BOOOOM! The earth shook, taking them all to the ground. Everett grabbed Courtney and fell backward, breaking her fall.
“Are you okay?” She gazed into his eyes.
He’d fallen directly on his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. He gasped for breath and nodded. Once he regained his breath, he said, “I’m fine. How about you?”
She smiled. “I’m okay, thanks to you.”
Danger barked and yelped in fear. Samson and Delilah bleated as they fought to regain their balance. Sox darted to the safety of Courtney’s sleeping bag, burrowing deep inside. Even the rooster and the two hens cackled a sound of sure distress at the violent shaking of the earth.
Elijah took a seat on his sleeping bag. He bowed his head. “Lord, I pray that you will watch over us, your children. Spare us from this plague as you spared your children from the plagues of Egypt. Amen.” The old prophet looked up. “Is everyone alright?”
Everett brushed off the seat of his pants and surveyed the room with his flashlight. “All present and accounted for.”
“And now we wait.” Kevin sat next to Sarah and put his arm around her.
Every few minutes, the walls of the cave would rattle as the larger meteorites hit outside. The group sat silently and listened for the next hour as the bombardment continued.
Everett climbed up the ladder and located the first aid supplies. He located an Ace bandage and brought it back down. He removed Courtney’s shoe and sock. He lightly touched the swollen area. “Does that hurt?”
“No. It looks worse than it feels.”
Everett wrapped the bandage firmly around her foot and ankle. “Is that too tight?”
“It seems to be okay.”
“If it feels like the Ace bandage is cutting off the circulation, let me know. I’ll rewrap it.” Everett picked up the small radio and tugged the antenna to make sure the end which ran outside of the cave was still secured to the bit of root by the cave entrance. He turned on the radio, but only static could be heard. “I guess the GRBN are in their bunkers also.”
“We need something to get our minds off of the impending doom.” Sarah scooted closer to Kevin.
Courtney moved her foot in a circular motion then looked up at Elijah. “Why don’t you tell us about Hanukkah?”
Elijah glanced from person to person. “Does everyone want to hear about it?”
“Yes, please!” Sarah replied.
“Believe it or not, the story has great relevance to the time in which we are now living.
“I’m sure most of you are students of history and need no back story, but just to recap, Alexander the Great’s empire fragmented after his death. Seleucus, one of his generals, took control of Babylonia and expanded his territory throughout the Near East to become what is known as the Seleucid Empire. The seventh ruler of this Seleucid Empire was Antiochus Epiphanes. He had a rather colorful rise to power, but that’s another story altogether.
“While Antiochus was in Egypt, the Jews revolted, overthrowing the puppet leader which Antiochus appointed as High Priest over the Jews. When Antiochus received news of the rebellion, he returned to Jerusalem and put down the uprising with a violent iron fist. He put an end to the sacrifices in the temple and slaughtered a pig upon the altar of God, the supreme abomination.
“The Jews launched a guerilla warfare campaign against the Seleucid Empire and eventually won the victory.
“Of course, the temple had to be rededicated. To do so, the priests needed the holy oil to burn in the lamp for eight days. Unfortunately, they had only enough oil for one day. The priests burned the lamp, and that one day’s worth of oil miraculously lasted the entire eight-day period.”
“Oh. And how does that pertain to us?” Sarah inquired.
Elijah raised his eyebrows. “Daniel prophesied of the antichrist who would put an end to the daily sacrifice and commit an abomination in the temple.”
“Maybe Daniel was talking about Antiochus,” Kevin said.
“He may have been. Antiochus Epiphanes could have been the near fulfillment of this prophecy, but we know that it will be fulfilled again, in the person of the antichrist, Angelo Luz.”
“A near and far fulfillment of the same prophecy?” Sarah sounded confused.
“Yes, child. Messiah tells us in Matthew twenty-four to watch for the fulfillment of this prophecy in the last days. Antiochus Epiphanes died some 160 years prior to the Messiah’s birth. So, it could not have been him of whom Christ spoke.”
“Daniel speaks of Alexander the Great and the division of the Macedonian Empire, right?” Everett pulled Courtney’s sock back over her foot so it wouldn’t get cold.
“Yes. The goat in Daniel chapter eight tells of a great conqueror. As the horn, representing authority, is broken off the goat, four other horns grow up to take its place. These are the four leaders who took control of the divided Macedonian Empire, one of them being Seleucus.
“When speaking of the desecrated temple, Daniel says in chapter eleven, ‘but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do expl
oits.’ That may well have a near and far fulfillment. It is quite possible that it spoke of the Maccabees, who overthrew the Seleucid Empire, and it may have been a prophecy of you. Perhaps it foretold of your battle against the GR outpost in Winchester and the courageous acts against Luz by your brothers and sisters around the world.”
Everett smiled as he considered that his life could be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. “Sort of gives you a sense of purpose, doesn’t it?”
Courtney grinned. “Yes, it does.”
BOOOOOM! Tremors shot across the floor; the walls shook, and everyone jumped from shock.
Everett’s heart raced. “That was close. It sounded like it could have been near the entrance. I better check it out.”
Kevin clicked on his flashlight. “I’ll come with you.”
The two men made their way to the front of the cavern. Everett shined his light toward the opening. “It’s caved in.”
“We’re trapped.” Kevin moved his light from side to side, examining the rubble blocking the exit.
Everett nodded. “Yep, but let’s not use that language with the girls. It won’t help. I’m sure we’ll be able to dig out.”
More rumblings could be heard from outside. “But we better wait until the earth has cleared the debris field before we give it a try.” Everett turned to go back.
When he returned to the cathedral, Courtney asked, “What happened?”
“A meteorite struck near the entrance. Some mud and rock came inside the cave.” Everett took his seat next to Courtney.
“But we can still get out, right?” Sarah’s voice sounded concerned.
Everett feigned a lack of genuine concern. “Yeah, it’s just rubble. We’ll get it cleared in no time. But we don’t want to be near the entrance while the sky is still falling in.”
Elijah stood up and walked over to the rocket stove. “Why don’t I make my famous apple latkes? You can’t celebrate Hanukkah without latkes.”
“That would be fantastic, Elijah.” Everett welcomed the distraction from the ongoing apocalyptic bombardment.
“Can I help?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, please. Will you bring me a box of instant mashed potatoes and a jar of apple sauce from the pantry?” Elijah pointed toward the elevated storage area above the cathedral. “And let Kevin hold the ladder for you. I don’t want the next shaker to cause you to fall.”
Elijah lit the stove, mixed up his batter, and managed to dispel the atmosphere of fear and worry with his warm latkes. Sox, Danger, and the goats even managed to get a taste. The heavy spirit of concern lingered in the background, but the group made a conscious effort to stay positive for the duration of the violent meteor shower.
CHAPTER 12
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Revelation 8:12
Everett awoke from a fitful night’s sleep. He flicked his flashlight on to see the time on his watch. “Six thirty.” He rolled over and lay still, listening for rumbles that might signal that the meteorites were still falling. All was quiet. The last impact to wake him up had been at 3:00 in the morning. Everett could hear nothing, except the steady rhythmic breathing of Courtney, whose sleeping bag was huddled up close to his. Everett closed his eyes and prayed silently inside the warm comfort of the covers he was in no hurry to leave.
He finished praying and flicked his light on once again to check the time. “Five past seven.” He quietly slipped out of his bag and put on his jacket. As carefully as possible, he lit the rocket stove and started a pot of coffee. Everett read a few Psalms by flashlight while he waited for the coffee to brew. He sipped his coffee then made his way up to the cave entrance.
“This is a mess.” A large slab of stone from the roof of the entrance jutted down at a steep slant, with the bottom toward the cathedral and the top angled out in the direction of the entrance. Everett leaned on the slab. It didn’t move. He pushed and kicked at the block. “It won’t budge.”
Mud and rubble lay at the base of the grand stone. An eighteen-inch gap between the top of the slab and the cave ceiling was also filled with smaller pieces of broken stone and earth. The wire antenna to the AM/FM radio ran out from beneath the bottom of the slab. Everett tugged gently on the wire. “Seems secure. But who knows if it’s cut on the other side.”
“We’re stuck, huh?” Kevin’s voice accompanied a secondary flashlight beam examining the giant slab of rock.
Everett turned around. “We might be able to dig out through that gap.” He shined his light to the space separating the slab and the ceiling.
Kevin’s light bounced from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. “My guess is that we’re roughly five feet away from the previous entrance. We’ll have a lot of digging to do.”
“Do you have other plans?”
“No.” Kevin snickered. “But we need to dig out five feet without hitting any other obstructions that are too big to move.”
Everett directed the beam of his flashlight on the slab. “The top is probably two feet closer to the outside than the bottom. We might only have about three feet to dig.”
“If we don’t have additional rock and debris on top of the entrance. Something caused it to cave in. We could have a huge meteorite sitting above the exit. Or, it could have hit higher up on the hill, causing mud and rock to slide down from above.” Kevin combed his beard with his fingers. “Or the worst case scenario, we’ve got a layer of mud and rock, sitting on top of a giant meteorite, sitting on top of this immovable slab of stone.”
Everett grimaced. “Did anyone ever tell you that you can be quite a downer sometimes?”
“Just keepin’ it real, bro. Just keepin’ it real.”
“Well, don’t keep it too real with the girls. Let’s assume that we can dig out until we’re proven wrong.”
“On the bright side, I haven’t heard any more impacts.”
Everett patted Kevin on the back. “See there; you can find something positive to say after all.”
“Don’t get used to it.” Kevin smiled. “What do you say we grab some shovels and start trying to dig out?”
Everett led the way back toward the cathedral. “I’ll second that motion.”
Courtney, Sarah, and Elijah were all awake when the two men returned to the cathedral.
“How does it look?” Courtney asked.
Everett preempted a response from Kevin. “I think we can dig out.”
“I can help,” Sarah offered.
Elijah stood up. “Yes, I too will assist you. Tell me what I must do.”
“Thanks,” Everett said. “Elijah, if you and Sarah can round up some buckets, we can use them to move the mud and rock out of the way as we dig. Kevin and I will get the tools from the upper storage area.”
Courtney flexed her bum ankle. “I can help also if you need me.”
Everett held up his hand. “No. You rest your foot. If you can manage to keep the animals out of our way, that will be a big help.”
“Roger that.” Courtney held Sox in her lap as she sat on her sleeping bag.
Everett and Kevin found the shovels and rendezvoused with Elijah and Sarah near the blocked entrance. Everett positioned the buckets below the gap and began striking the mud and rock with the point of his shovel.
Kevin assisted him. “Looks like you’ve got one big rock, right in the middle of everything.”
Everett worked around the large boulder that seemed to be blocking the gap. “Yeah, I see that. We’ll get as much material cleared from around it as possible and see if we can move it.”
The two men half-filled the buckets below their work area.
Elijah replaced those buckets with empty ones. “We’ll dump these out before they get too heavy.”
Sarah assisted him in taking the rock and dirt to the far corner of the cave.
Kevin whispered to Everett while Elijah and Sarah were gone with the buckets. “That stone ain’t moving.”
Everett gritted his teeth. “I know. But I’m not giving up yet. We’ve got a hammer and a chisel up in the storage area.”
Kevin shook his head. “That will take forever.”
“Which is exactly how long we’ll be here if we don’t clear that rock.” The frustration of the situation hit Everett hard.
“I’ll get the hammer and chisel.” Kevin walked away.
Sarah returned and placed her bucket next to Elijah’s. “What’s the prognosis?”
“It’s going to take some work, but we’ll get out.” Everett nodded to make his statement more convincing to everyone, including himself.
Kevin returned in a few minutes, handing the tools to Everett. “Here you go.”
Everett positioned the tip of the chisel on the boulder, nearest to the top of the slab. He swung the hammer. TINK! Tiny fragments of the stone sprayed everywhere. “You didn’t happen to see any safety glasses when you were digging around in the tools, did you?”
Kevin shook his head. “No. Do you want some sunglasses?”
“It’s hard enough to see as it is.” Everett furrowed his brow.
Sarah put her hands on her hips. “If you get rock in your eye, it might be even harder to see.”
“Try these.” Elijah took his readers out of his jacket pocket.
Everett placed the glasses on his eyes. “Wow. Everything looks bigger and closer.” He carefully swung the hammer at the butt of the chisel. Tink! Tink! Tink!
Once he felt more comfortable with the glasses, he resumed hitting the chisel with all his might. TINK! TINK! TINK!
Twenty minutes into the experiment, he’d made a dent in the rock not much larger than a golf ball. He rubbed his right shoulder.
“Let me give it a few swings.” Kevin stepped closer to Everett.
Elijah raised his index finger. “Wise King Solomon said, ‘If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.’ Might I suggest that we sharpen the chisel?”