“Don’t take this into your own hands,” Judd said.
“What if I’m right? What if I’m the one who’s supposed to eliminate Nicolae?”
Someone knocked at the door. Kasim told Judd to hide in the next room. Judd scurried inside and listened.
The door opened and closed, but Judd didn’t hear any voices.
Judd looked into the hallway. The room was empty.
36
VICKI and the others moved about in a daze. Though they had expected the deaths of Eli and Moishe, the violent way they had died affected them all.
Darrion showed the kids some of the secrets of the house. Her father had prepared for emergencies. She led the kids to a downstairs game room and pushed a button under the wet bar. A section of the wall moved slightly, and Darrion pushed it all the way open. Inside was a type of shelter built into the side of the hill behind the house. Along the wall, shelves were stacked with cans of food.
“Did your dad think you’d have to use this?” Mark said.
“By the time he had this built, he was getting suspicious of the Global Community. He wanted to make sure there was a place we could all come and be safe.”
Vicki was amazed at the space inside the secret room. If the kids ever needed to hide, this would be perfect.
Darrion led them upstairs to the loft. A small ladder was stored under one of the beds, and Darrion propped it against the wall. She opened a tiny door high on the wall. Inside was something that looked like a telescope.
“I’m not sure how the thing works,” Darrion said, “but if you put on these goggles, you’re supposed to be able to see a long way and tell if anybody’s coming.”
“Heat imaging,” Conrad said. “If somebody’s hiding in the bushes outside, those will show you.”
While Darrion showed them other surprises throughout the house, Vicki turned on the television to catch more reaction to the killing of the two witnesses.
A news broadcast showed Leon Fortunato speaking in front of a crowd. Music blared in the background as Fortunato said, “The time has come to recognize the truth about our potentate. He is a deity. That’s right—a god. And perhaps the deity, the creator God and savior of all mankind.”
People cheered as Fortunato listed Carpathia’s accomplishments. When someone from the press asked about the death of Peter the Second, Fortunato waved his hand and looked to another reporter.
The only person who spoke about Peter was Carpathia himself. In an interview shortly after killing the two witnesses, Carpathia admitted that he was tired of the Enigma Babylon Faith and said it would not return. “Individual souls can find within themselves the deity necessary to conduct their lives as they wish. I esteem individual freedom over organized religion.”
Every newscast was the same. They showed the bloated, decaying bodies of the two beloved prophets lying near the Wailing Wall. People danced around the bodies and laughed, pointed, held their noses, and mocked. Some went close enough to kick the bodies.
The party spread to other parts of the world. People created dummies that looked like Eli and Moishe and paraded them in town squares and at musical events. The dummies were hanged, stabbed, and burned while people cheered and laughed. Reports confirmed that many were exchanging gifts like it was Christmas.
Late the next night, Vicki found a commentator who quoted the latest Global Community poll. “People were asked if the preachers should be buried or remain in the street. An overwhelming 87 percent agree the preachers should not be buried. But let’s be honest. The scene in Jerusalem is sickening. Put this chapter behind us. They were executed Tuesday. It’s Thursday. You’ve had your fun. Don’t let this get any gorier. It’s time to get past this, to give these men a proper burial and move on.”
But the celebration in Jerusalem only picked up steam. Top stars performed nonstop, and the crowds increased.
Judd kept watch for the next two days, but Kasim didn’t come back to his apartment. Judd wondered if something bad had happened to him. Mr. Stein had been upset with Judd for walking around during the Gala, but when Judd explained the situation, he understood.
The scene at General Zimmerman’s house was incredible. It was wall-to-wall people, most of whom had the mark of the true believer. Mr. Stein and others spoke about what events might happen next and for everyone to be on guard for a possible GC clampdown. “They have promised not to arrest anyone this week, but be careful. They have lied to us before.”
Judd watched for news of Carpathia’s next speech, but the man seemed to be in hiding. Judd figured Nicolae was watching in secret, excited about all the sinful things going on.
Friday morning, Mr. Stein led the entire group of new believers to the Wailing Wall, where they could see Eli and Moishe. He was convinced that something miraculous was about to happen.
Judd had told Lionel and Sam to keep watch for Kasim. As they drew closer to the place where Eli and Moishe lay, Judd’s stomach turned. He smelled the rotting corpses from a hundred yards away. People still danced and sang around the dead men, though most people couldn’t stand the stench any longer and had moved their party down the street.
Judd put a handkerchief to his face and followed Mr. Stein. They came as close as the GC guards would allow.
“I don’t see how people can stand so close to them,” Sam said, plugging his nose.
A siren wailed a few blocks away, and Judd realized it was another band kicking off the morning’s celebration. Judd turned and saw a GC Peacekeeper talking to someone perched in a tree. The Peacekeeper grabbed the man’s robe and pulled him down.
Judd gasped. It was Kasim.
Vicki set her alarm and got up early Friday morning. She didn’t want to miss what was about to happen. The others followed not long after and sat around the room in pajamas.
“You’re sure this is going to happen this morning?
” Mark said.
“Yes and I don’t want to miss the live coverage. You can bet we’ll only get one shot to see it and then they’ll destroy the video.”
Vicki put an arm around Darrion. The girl had wandered into the woods the day before and now seemed sad. When Vicki asked what was up, Darrion shook her head.
“Come on,” Vicki whispered.
Darrion sighed. “This place brings back a lot of memories, good and bad.”
“Tell me the good stuff.”
“Fishing with my dad. Hiking with Mom. Summer nights when we’d leave all the windows and doors open and it’d be cold enough to see your breath in the morning. We had a lot of fun up here.”
“What about the bad?”
Darrion stared at the TV. “Mom and Dad were usually too busy to come here. Dad traveled and Mom didn’t like to drive alone.”
Mark found a live feed from the Wailing Wall.
“There was something else that happened,” Darrion continued. “I don’t like to think about it.”
Vicki scooted closer. “Tell me.”
“I was mad at Mom one weekend. Dad was out of town. I took off with a girlfriend who told her mom she was sleeping at my house, and we met these two guys. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I brought them all up here.”
“What happened?”
Darrion looked away. “I’ve been reliving it ever since we got here. I’ve never told anybody.”
Vicki hugged Darrion tightly. “I did a lot of bad stuff before I became a believer. Some of it comes back at the weirdest times.”
“I know God forgives,” Darrion said, “but how do I get it out of my head?”
“Sometimes it helps to tell somebody else,” Vicki said.
Lionel grabbed Judd’s arm as Judd started to run. “It’s Kasim! I have to get him,” Judd said.
Lionel let Judd go and turned back to the scene before them. Mr. Stein and others knelt, hands clasped, and silently prayed. A few who were dancing and drinking saw them and laughed.
“You people want to be next?” a dark-haired girl said. She lost her balance and fell, and
her friends laughed.
Drunken people danced in a circle around the dead bodies. The line went one way, then changed direction and quickly went the other. Faster and faster they danced until the line fell apart. People fell over each other, laughing, tears rolling down their cheeks. One woman became sick and was hit by another who fell over her.
Sam pointed toward Eli’s and Moishe’s bodies. “Look what those people are doing.”
A girl crawled toward the two witnesses on her hands and knees. A man sat nearby talking to her. She turned around and held out a bottle. Lionel stepped closer to hear their conversation.
“I gotta have another drink before I do this,” the girl said.
“Here you go,” the man said. “What number is this— 4,000?”
The girl laughed. “I think I lost track … three days ago.”
The man laughed and took the bottle back. “What are you going to do, have a dance with the corpses?”
The girl pulled out a pair of scissors and snipped at the air. “No way. I got a business idea.”
“What?”
“Hear me out. These guys have been in the news for years, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So what do you think people would pay on-line for a piece of their clothes?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Watch me! I’m goin’ right up there and snip some of that burlap or whatever they’re wearing. And the next thing you know, it’ll be Jerusalem Twosome dot-com.”
Lionel shook his head. He couldn’t believe anyone could be so greedy. The man helped the girl to her feet. She wobbled a little, then made her way to Moishe.
“This is awful,” she said. “There are bugs all over.” She swatted at a bird picking at Moishe’s flesh. A rat scurried out from under him and she shrieked. She quickly plugged her nose.
“What do you expect?” her friend said. “They’ve been lying in the sun for three days.”
She inspected Moishe’s body. “I can’t even find a spot that’s not soaked in blood.”
“Just cut it and get out of there before somebody stops you.”
A dancer came close to the girl. “Watch it! This is delicate surgery, especially when my head’s spinning.” She pulled at Moishe’s robe. “Right here looks like a good piece.”
Lionel noticed movement of Moishe’s body and thought the girl had rolled him slightly.
“Hey, whoever’s moving this stiff better stop it!”
Lionel looked closely at the dried blood around Moishe’s body. Something strange was happening. The red flakes were turning from dust to liquid before his eyes and moving back toward the body. Moishe’s head wound was closing, the skin stretching over his scalp. Hair replaced itself. When Moishe took a deep breath of air, several people nearby screamed.
The girl stopped cutting the robe and stared at the dead man. “What in the world?”
Her friend shouted, “Get out of there, Cindy! Come on!”
“This … can’t … b-be,” the girl stammered. “These guys have been dead three—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Moishe took a huge breath and his chest heaved. He opened his eyes wide and raised his hands into the air.
The girl couldn’t breathe, couldn’t scream, couldn’t move. Inches from her face the disgusting remains of two dead men were coming together. They were being made whole before her eyes.
Lionel heard Mr. Stein and a few others whisper, “Praise God! May Jesus be praised!”
The girl finally scooted backward and screamed. Others who were still dancing stopped and glanced at the two bodies, covered their mouths, and ran away. To them it was horrifying.
To Lionel, it was the most wonderful sight he had ever seen.
Vicki kept an arm around Darrion as the girl wept. Shelly screamed and Vicki glanced at the screen. Eli and Moishe were moving.
“It’s happening,” Mark said. “It’s really happening.”
The camera pulled back to show shrieking people running from the place. Others ran forward to see what was happening, only to stop in their tracks when they saw the dead bodies coming to life.
Eli and Moishe moved in slow motion. Their chests heaved as their lungs filled with oxygen. They struggled to their knees. It was like watching a newborn animal standing for the first time. Then they gained strength and put hands on the pavement in front of them and rose. As they stood, people throughout the plaza whimpered and moaned with fright.
Their skin, black and purple from lying in the sun, began to fade until it was flesh colored again. Their wounds healed.
Lionel couldn’t take his eyes from them. The two gathered their robes, which had also become like new, and stood strong and tall. They gazed at the crowd, then looked up.
A voice spoke so loud that people covered their ears. “COME UP HERE!”
Lionel noticed the music from a few blocks away had stopped. Everyone watched as Eli and Moishe slowly rose into the air. People fell on their knees and buried their faces. Others cried out in horror as the two disappeared into a cloud. The cloud moved higher and higher until it vanished.
Lionel fell to his knees. All he could think to say was, “Thank you. Thank you for letting me see that.”
Mr. Stein began to sing and other believers picked up the tune. The crowd that had been so happy now wailed and cried, drowning out the praises of the believers.
I have to get to Judd and tell him about this, Lionel thought. But just as he stood, the ground shook beneath him. Lionel grabbed the iron fence and held on. People nearby tumbled against each other. Some were thrown high into the air.
The bright blue sky blackened, and cold rain pelted the ground. Then came the crash of buildings and the smash of metal and glass from a few blocks away.
“Earthquake!” someone shouted.
Lionel held on to the fence until the rumbling stopped. The sun shone through the dark clouds, casting a green shadow on the area.
Mr. Stein said, “We must help those who may be trapped.”
While the rest of the crowd looked for safety, Lionel followed his friends into the death zone. Lionel’s one question was whether Judd had survived the quake.
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