by Mark Goodwin
The British reporter’s monologue persisted. “Pope Peter will make a televised introduction of the three Watchers tomorrow night, but it is important that viewers not allow themselves to be troubled by their appearance. Remember that they are not of this world and consider that our kind may look just as peculiar to them as they do to us. Like us, they have two eyes, two arms, two legs, though they are significantly larger in stature. Perhaps the most obvious difference will be in their eyes, greenish skin tone, hairlessness, and forked tongues. A very rudimentary description of their species has been reptilian, but that terminology ignores their far-superior intellect.”
“Three unclean spirits like frogs.” Ali set his food aside to flip to the back of his Bible. “For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” He looked up from the book. “Really, it is so amazing! What an honor it is to be living in these final hours.”
Everett twisted his mouth to one side. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the ride. If I had to do it over, I’d have definitely caught the first bus out. I would be content to watch the whole thing from the balcony.”
“Ditto,” Courtney said in a snarky tone. “Front-row seats are highly over-rated.”
“But we must get a television. We have to see these creatures, these demons that Luz intends to pass off as saviors.” The rabbi held up his hands excitedly as he spoke.
“We did not bring television,” Ali replied. “We had only room for essential.”
“All the buildings in town looked abandoned. I’m sure we’d have no problem salvaging a television. The people probably left in search of food or water. I doubt TVs were high enough on the priority list for most folks to take with them.” Everett reclined against the wall behind him.
“There’s a café across the street from the entrance to the underground city. I’m sure they had a TV for soccer games,” Courtney added.
“Yes, all café in Turkey have TV for football.” Ali raised one finger in the air. “And have satellite dish.”
“Think you’ll be able to hack the signal?” Everett asked.
“I can do it.” Ali nodded.
The four friends finished their meal, then passed along the information from the report to the other people living on the first level with them. Rabbi Hertzog would disseminate an abbreviated summary of the broadcast at the beginning of service on the following day. The Saturday assembly would certainly have the highest turnout of the week.
Everett, Courtney, and Ali spent the following days coordinating with the security teams from the other underground cities. Everett specified which teams would send assistance in the instance that any given city was attacked. All of the cities utilized by the Jews sat in a fifty-mile radius, so none were onerously remote, yet Everett wanted to keep the plan as efficient as possible. The fifty-mile distance from the two farthest cities meant that the hand-held walkies used by the security teams would never reach from end to end, so Everett also established a communications relay protocol that would allow messages to be passed along, in grapevine fashion, from city to city.
Ali set up Tobias’ Ham radio in the shot-up Typhoon with the solar array installed on the roof of the vehicle for power. Additionally, he ran a series of extension cords down into their subterranean dwelling from the solar array which served to power the television. The satellite dish was also attached to the war-torn MRAP, giving it the appearance of a post-apocalyptic recreational vehicle.
Once the pressing chores were finished, the team kept themselves busy with menial tasks. Everett, in particular, wanted to keep his mind occupied. Otherwise, the intensity of waiting for the final grain of sand in the hourglass of time to drop would drive him mad.
CHAPTER 19
When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Revelation 11:7-10
Everett’s heart broke when he turned on the television. “Oh no.”
They’d just returned from surface patrol, making sure no one snooped around the entrance to their below-ground dwelling. Courtney leaned her rifle against the wall of their living quarters. “What is it?”
“Luz. He’s killed Moses and Elijah. GRBN is showing the footage. He shot them himself.”
Courtney turned her attention to the television. She gasped and covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.
Ali slipped off his boots and joined the two of them. He shook his head as the image of Angelo Luz personally firing a fully-automatic M-4 at the two prophets of God played over and over. “You know that this is not permanent. Like our Lord, they will rise again in three days.”
Everett sighed. “I know Ali. We’ll all rise again, but I’m so tired of watching the people I love die. Over and over, one by one, they keep getting killed. And I’m left here to suffer through.”
“With your beautiful wife.” Ali had a gentle way of rebuking Everett without it sounding like a reprimand.
Everett turned to her and put his arm around Courtney. He knew Ali was right, and he was being entirely ungrateful. Everett pulled her close and kissed her on the head. “With my beautiful wife . . .” He looked back to Ali. “. . . and my wise companion.”
Ali smiled with his lips pressed tightly together. “I know Elijah was like father for you. Perhaps I was little insensitive. I am sure it is difficult thing for you to watch. I am sorry if I mis-speaked.”
Everett put his other arm around Ali and pulled him close for a group hug. He chuckled. “You didn’t mis-speaked.”
Having mastered the art of ascending and descending stairs on crutches, the rabbi hobbled into the room. His expression became sorrowful as he watched the small television perched on the nook which was carved into the soft stone wall. “This is a terrible thing.” He shook his head.
The camera cut from the video loop of Elijah and Moses being gunned down to GRBN reporter Harrison Yates. “A spontaneous celebration has broken out on the Temple Mount. People are showing up with bottles of champagne, bags of pot, and a variety of other substances to rejoice over the deaths of the Two Troublers. I hate to take joy in the death of another human being, but I can’t help but think that the world is a far better place without the Two Troublers menacing the planet, wouldn’t you agree, Heather?”
The camera panned out to show Heather Smith sitting at the news desk beside Yates. “I concur completely, Harrison. In fact, if we can get some footage of the revelers congregating on the Temple Mount, you’ll see clouds forming over Jerusalem as we speak. GRBN Chief Meteorologist Matt Anderson is saying the chance of rain in Jerusalem this evening is near 100 percent.”
“And in this particular instance, Heather, I can’t imagine that this party will be canceled for inclement weather.”
Smith laughed. “Well, I guess a festival in the rain might be fun, but I do hope if any of our listeners are planning to join in the merrymaking on the Temple Mount, please be aware of the conditions. If you see lightning or hear thunder, move the festivities indoors.”
“Great advice, Heather. While we’re on the topic of safety, I want to remind everyone that sharing drugs is cool, but sharing needles isn’t.”
Courtney shook her head in disgust. “I guess the sores are gone. I can’t see a trace of scaring on his forehead or her lips. In fact, she looks better than ever.”
Everett walked close to the screen and pointed at Smith’s hairline. “Look closely at the individual hairs on her
head. These are CGI. They’ve got Smith and Yates sitting in a studio up against a green screen with CGI sensors attached to their faces. The data is being patched through to a computer which is generating the image we’re seeing.”
“Oddly enough, the CGI Heather Smith doesn’t look that much more fake than the real one.” Courtney stood with her arms crossed.
Heather Smith’s expression changed suddenly. “Harrison, we’ve got more breaking news. The Holy Luzian Empire has just struck Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Shanghai, and Beijing with nuclear missiles. This was a retaliatory strike against the Alliance, which has been given every opportunity to withdraw their forces from Global Republic territory.
“As you know, the new Minister of Defense, General Semyaza, who has graced our planet with his presence, directed the Global Republican Army in a full-scale defensive assault against the Alliance forces in Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. For three days now, the fighting has been ongoing and the Alliance forces have actually pushed past the Global Republican Army’s lines.
“I know our dear Majesty’s heart, and I’m sure he is absolutely devastated at having to destroy the millions of people living in those cities, but what else can he do? His responsibility is to his own subjects.”
Yates nodded pensively. “You’re absolutely right, Heather. The Chinese-Russian Alliance has proven time and time again that they are unwilling to be reasoned with. I put all of my faith in His High and Most Prepotent Majesty Angelo Luz, and the Watcher, General Semyaza. I trust them without reservation. If they feel a nuclear strike was the correct response, then I believe we had no better option.”
“I agree, Harrison. And I want to remind the citizens of Jerusalem that this city has the most advanced anti-missile systems on Earth. The Iron Dome 3.0 is the third-generation defense system, which is leaps and bounds ahead of the original Iron Dome installed by the IDF decades ago.”
Yates nodded. “We also have to remember one of the quantum computers that make up Dragon is on the Global Republic Space Station. That station is armed with anti-missile batteries as well. We’re talking about the most advanced artificial intelligence systems equipped with the latest in military technology. It’s literally like we have a god watching over us, protecting us from all harm.”
Smith puckered her brow, but the CGI reduced the depth of the lines so much that the intonation of the expression was nearly lost. “It’s not like we have a god watching over us, Harrison. We do have a god looking out from above. Dragon is the essence of His Majesty. His spirit, his very soul abides in Dragon every bit as much as it lives in his body.”
Yates shook his head. “You are so spiritual. It absolutely amazes me. I tend to get so caught up in the nuts and bolts, but you seem to catch the ethereal essence of things.”
Heather acted as if she’d just been insulted rather than complimented. “Why? Because I’m a woman?”
Harrison shook his head. “No, no, Heather. I don’t look at people based on their biological equipment. I’m not some hayseed who believes gender is defined by anatomy. You’ve known me long enough to know better. I’m saying you’re more spiritual because you’re Heather Smith. It would be the same if you were Heath Smith or if you assumed a non-binary identity.”
Courtney rolled her eyes. “Nuclear war just broke out and I have to listen to Harrison Yates apologize for making a remark that implied this computer-animated version of Heather Smith is female. I’m glad this planet doesn’t have much longer. I can’t imagine how much worse it would get.” She picked up the remote to turn off the television.
“Wait!” Everett held up his hand to stop her. “Just try to ignore your gag reflexes for a few more minutes. I want to see if they’ll tell us anything else.”
Yates looked somber as he addressed the audience. “We are getting news that Russia and China have launched a significant percentage of their ICBM arsenal. While we have full confidence in Dragon’s ability to neutralize those nuclear weapons, unfortunately, the Alliance has also deployed an additional attack. Chinese-Russian Alliance nuclear submarines have launched submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBMs. The problem with these weapons is that they can be fired from the oceans in much closer proximity to their targets. This reduces the available response time for defense systems to destroy enemy missiles.”
Heather Smith shook her computer-generated head. “Word is coming in now. One of the missiles fired from a submarine in the Atlantic has just detonated in Paris. I’m afraid the City of Lights is no more.”
“Another missile, possibly from the same submarine, has just hit London,” Yates added.
Everett tapped Ali on the shoulder. “Come on! We have to get the Ham radio out of the Typhoon, seal off the entrance and the ventilation shafts. Ankara is less than 200 miles from here, and it will definitely be a target for the Alliance. If a high-yield nuke goes off in Ankara, we could get the fallout.
“Courtney, go around and let everyone else on the security team know what’s going on. Send them to the surface to help us get the city sealed off.”
She looked less concerned than Everett. “What difference will a little fallout make? We won’t be around long enough to contract cancer or have mutations.”
Everett hurried toward the stairs. “Maybe not, but we will be around long enough to get radiation poisoning. And of all the ways there is to go, it’s one of the worst.”
Everett raced to the surface with Ali on his heels. Before shutting down the Ham radio, Everett used it to put out a call to the other underground cities in the area. He informed them of what was happening and the precautions Kaymakli would be taking, urging them to take similar precautions. The other operators on the relay network thanked Everett for the heads-up and assured him that they would pass along the information to the cities which were out of range for Everett’s radio.
Afterward, Ali and Everett disconnected the Ham radio and carried the components down into the city. Once they were stowed, Everett said, “Next we need to set up the solar panel near the entrance and get the rest of the pieces underground.”
“It is possible that nuclear blast could create EMP and destroy solar array if we leave panels outside?” Ali followed Everett back to the surface.
“The nearest target is Ankara. The altitude at which a nuke is detonated to destroy a city is too low to generate an EMP this far away. The Alliance would have to be specifically targeting for an EMP to affect us here. The nuke would have to be a hundred miles overhead. A standard nuke detonation is less than a mile high usually.” Everett crawled on top of the Typhoon and began removing the solar panels.
“But it is possible?” Ali removed the charging cables from the panels and reeled them up.
“Possible but not likely. Jerusalem is the only city in the entire Holy Luzian Empire that has a functioning electrical grid. An EMP on any other city would be shooting a dead horse at this stage of the game.” Everett relocated the panels to the enclosure just above the entrance.
The two of them positioned the charge controller, the batteries, and the inverter several feet inside the entrance to the city since they did not have enough cable to run the entire setup down to the first level.
“What will we use to block off the entrance and the ventilation shafts?” Ali asked.
Everett tested the inverter to make sure the connections were good. “Sandbags would be best, but we’ll use whatever we can find. At this distance, radiated particles getting into our air supply is the biggest threat. We’ve got enough food and water. We can literally stay in our bunker until Jesus comes back.”
“What about air? How will we breathe?” Ali walked behind Everett.
“There’s a lot of air down in the city.”
“Enough for 3,000 people for two months?”
Everett sighed. “Maybe we can figure out some type of filtration device.”
“Perhaps we can build frame and put on it blanket to cover openings.”
Everett thought about Ali’s suggestion. “Yeah, t
hat might help just enough to keep us from getting radiation poisoning. Like Courtney said, we don’t have to worry about long-term effects.”
“And we can put water on blanket. Perhaps that will stop more of the water-soluble ash particles from passing through the blanket.”
“Great idea, Ali.” Everett turned to see the dozen or so troops Courtney had sent up to help. He explained the plan and asked them to scavenge wood, metal, comforters, blankets, and sheets to assist in constructing some primitive air filters. Everyone went to work in teams of two, searching for materials to be used in the project.
The sun had set long before Everett and the others completed their mission of building the rudimentary filtration devices. Once the job was finished, Everett thanked the other members of the security team and retired to his quarters.
He sat down on his sleeping bag and kicked off his boots.
Ali took a seat near the doorway. “Where is Rabbi Hertzog?”
Courtney had continued to monitor the television broadcast since the inverter had been reconnected to the battery bank. “He couldn’t stand to watch anymore. He went to bed.”
Everett reclined on his sleeping bag and watched the TV. “What did we miss?”
“The Chinese-Russian Alliance nuked Brussels, Zurich, Milan, Munich, Vienna, and Cairo.”
“What about Luz?”
“He took out every major city in China and Russia. Chongqing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Novosibirsk, everything.”
“High yield bombs?” Everett was tired, but he still felt compassion for all the lives lost on this fateful day.
“Yeah. 100 to 200 kilotons each. Everything has been reduced to ashes.”
“That is big?” Ali looked to Everett for more clarification.