by Tim LaHaye
He looked at his watch. “If the elders are right, we’ve still got some time. Believe me, I’ll be out there before four. I’ll tell you what’s most bizarre about all this: the reports from all over the globe that Carpathia won’t allow to be broadcast.”
“Everybody crying over the destruction of Babylon?”
“Exactly. They have no clue what’s coming, so they can’t think of anything worse than that.”
“But look,” she said, pointing to the screen monitoring the Petra crowd. “Hundreds, maybe thousands, are kneeling. Let’s go see if they need people to counsel or—”
“In a minute. Let me show you some of these . . . look.”
But in the reflection of the screen, Chang saw her leaving. Her priorities were right, he knew, and he stood to follow. He quickly realized how long he had been sitting in one spot. He ached head to toe and stretched as he continued to watch his screens. “I should check with Mr. Smith!” he called out.
“He knows your number,” Naomi shot back.
“I’ll be right with you,” he said.
“I’m not waiting.”
“I’ll find you.”
“I hope so.”
From New York, Brussels, London, Buenos Aires, the Persian Gulf, Tokyo, Beijing, Toronto, Moscow, Johannesburg, New Delhi, Sydney, Paris, and other major cities came the laments of those in power. As they began their prepared remarks about the difficulty of suddenly being ripped away from New Babylon, of losing computer contact with the source of commerce and leadership, to a man or woman each began to weep. Their shoulders heaved, their lips quivered, their voices caught. From everywhere came vivid pictures of giants of commerce disintegrating into sobs.
“All is lost!” the woman in charge of the Tokyo Exchange wailed. “Had we been able to restore our connections within twenty-four hours, this might have been salvageable, but our entire economy is tied to New Babylon, and to see the pictures of her lying in utter ruin, smoke rising into space, well, it’s just, just . . . hopeless!” And she fell apart. Moments later came the report that she had committed suicide, as had many in the sub-potentate’s cabinet there.
A captain of industry from Europe announced that he had thousands of ships at sea that would virtually be dead in the water before the next sunrise.
Unity Army officials in the United North American States submitted their resignations en masse, “knowing that we face court-martial and execution,” because they had lost all their resources and would not be able to send reinforcements to Armageddon. “And wait until the millions of troops already marshaled there realize that no more food is coming, let alone any pay.”
As countless such reports flooded GC broadcast headquarters, some opportunistic official there kept forwarding them to Carpathia and asking what should be done.
Chang intercepted all such interactions and was amused at Carpathia’s obvious rage. “Do not make me say it again,” Carpathia shot back. “No such reports are to be made public. I am not to be quoted except to say that this seemingly devastating loss will be remedied by our victory in the Jezreel Valley, in Edom, and especially in Jerusalem, where I shall establish my eternal kingdom as the one and only true god. The temporary losses of finances and commerce will be forgotten once I have ushered in the ultimate New World Order. There will no longer be a shred of opposition from man or spirit, and this planet will become a paradise of bounty for all.”
Chang hurried out and joined Naomi. “Sometimes I think I’m looking forward to the end of all this just so I can get some rest.”
Naomi laughed and mimicked him. “Good to see You, Lord. Can I get back to You after a nap?”
“Go now, now, now!” the Unity Army commander hollered, rousting Mac and the other troops and their platoons out of the Church of the Flagellation. “You will be exposed only briefly! The mortars will be launched from behind you, and by the time the rebels take aim, they will be struck. Go! Go! Go!”
The troops, most half Mac’s age or younger, looked wide-eyed and panicky, but they seemed to gather strength and courage from one another. Again Mac maneuvered so he was at the back as they sprinted toward the Pools of Bethesda. “Ten seconds!” came the bullhorned announcement from behind them, but it came too late. Those in the front, clearly terrified that they had come within firing range of the resistance, slowed and many stopped, crouching and aiming.
That caused those behind to run into them, and many were trampled. Mac heard swearing and screaming just before the rebels opened fire. Unity forces quickly retaliated, but every second without supporting mortar fire made them more vulnerable. To Mac it seemed as if the crowd was about to turn back in a rage, firing upon their own superiors.
And the mortars were launched. Because so many in front of Mac had dropped, he had a clear view of the scruffy rebels, their faces mirroring the terror of seeing mortar shells arcing directly at their positions. They were shoulder to shoulder, not uniformed, pale and wasted from surviving more than most of their comrades had been able to endure. They had proudly stood their ground and defied the GC to overrun them and their shrine, but in an instant it would all be over.
They could see it coming, see it happening, and Mac read it in their eyes. None turned away. There would be no escaping. Many apparently decided to go down fighting. They death-gripped their Uzis, rattling off loud bursts even as the first mortar shell hit and sent dozens of them flying in pieces.
The next hit a split second later and the place became a crater, with a hundred dead or dying and three times that many scurrying for the closest gate. As had been the plan, those who opted for the Lion’s Gate to the east were quickly killed or sent scampering back by yet another mortar round. Now, as scripted, those resistance forces remaining were running for their lives toward Herod’s Gate. The last vestiges of those guarding the gate had heard the blasts and seen the bloodbath, clearly realizing their compatriots had nowhere to go but toward their own positions. With the invaders on their heels, the gate had to be opened or they would all be pinned to the wall and slaughtered.
From Mac’s vantage point he could plainly see what awaited the fleeing rebels outside the gate. While he and the others had entered the Damascus Gate, surreptitious Unity personnel had slipped into place with what appeared to be colossal Gatling guns on massive caissons. From the looks of the barrels, Mac guessed the guns could accommodate fifty-caliber shells.
Those in the front of the advancing Unity forces were now shooting the rebels in the back, and the more who fell, the more were fired upon. Mac stole a glance behind him. He was bringing up the rear. “Lord, forgive me,” he breathed, spraying his Uzi and dropping at least a dozen GC from behind. He felt no remorse. All’s fair . . . It was only fitting, he decided, that the devil’s crew were dressed in all black. Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Unity personnel in front of him parted like the Red Sea as their counterparts outside the walls opened fire with the big guns. Mac, too, dived for cover, watching in horror as dozens of rebels were ripped to pieces.
It seemed to be over as quickly as it had begun. Rogue GC stepped among the bodies shooting this one and that who seemed to still be moving. Others fanned out and began helping themselves to weapons and whatever keepsakes they could find on the shattered bodies. This was Mac’s chance.
He quickly pretended to do what the GC were doing, but he was pickier. He used his weapon or his boot to roll over only those dead or dying who were the right size to possibly be Buck. Mac picked up a weapon occasionally and rifled a pocket or two, just in case anyone was watching. He didn’t really want to find Buck now, not unless he remained alive in the Temple Mount. No rebels had survived in the Muslim Quarter, as far as he could see.
It was the strangest battle George Sebastian had ever been part of. One could hardly call it a battle at all. It was just he and his ragtag bunch of earnest, impassioned believers, ringing part of the Petra perimeter with a handful of fairly sophisticated armaments—some directed energy weapons that burned
the skin of soldiers and horses from long distances, and too few long-range fifty-caliber rifles—against the largest fighting force in the history of mankind.
The Global Community Unity Army, spearheaded by Antichrist himself, filled the horizon, even when George backed up onto the slopes and looked through solar-powered uberbinoculars. Hundreds of thousands of black-clad troops on horseback seemed to undulate under the shimmering desert vapors, steeds champing at the bit and high-stepping in place, appearing eager to carry their charges in an attack on the hopelessly outnumbered defenders.
Yet Sebastian felt little fear. He couldn’t deny a certain trepidation, scanning the tanks and armored personnel carriers, the foot soldiers, the fighters and bombers and choppers that backed up the cavalry as far as the eye could see. It was no exaggeration to call his enemy a sea of humanity, and he could not imagine a throng so massive ever having gathered in one place before. More than once he had seen most of the million-plus gathered at Petra, and impressive as that was, it was nothing compared to this.
Sebastian’s occasional volleys of DEWs and Fifties had proved a nuisance for the Unity forces. He had even caused several dozen casualties, which sent Gustaf Zuckermandel’s crazy underlings scampering into the field to harvest weapons, IDs, and full uniforms. And the supernatural protection of Petra seemed to hold, even out here. Sebastian had lost nary a troop.
Yet he knew well that if that great army merely advanced upon his position without firing a shot, his entire cache of ammunition would make not one serious dent in the overall force aligned against him. The enemy had begun advancing at a snail’s pace, and while they were neither firing nor launching artillery of any sort, the mere size of that force directing its momentum his way caused the earth to tremble and the footing to become unsure.
And of course he was worried about Rayford. He had seen the man protected like the rest of them, heat-seeking missiles appearing to fly directly through aircraft without harming a hair on anyone’s head. What could have caused injury to him now, and why? Some had speculated that the pieces of his vehicle found in the hills might have evidenced damage from an incendiary. But the latest report from Abdullah Smith was that the damage appeared to be the result of a loss of control, that the ATV had rolled and tumbled, smashing to bits.
What, then, about the blood trail that could have been only Rayford’s? It was way beyond Sebastian to question God, but he had to wonder. Could a missile God caused to miss Rayford have still caused an accident that mortally wounded him? And who was to blame for that? Ray himself? The enemy?
The bigger question now, of course, was what would come of this advance by the invaders. Sebastian believed with his whole heart that Petra was impregnable. What was he doing out here with his band of resisters then? Presumably giving latecomers a chance to benefit from the safety of the place. Before they came within the saving influence of the stone city, Sebastian would try everything in his power to pave the way for them. Yet none had come, and he saw none on the way.
Surely in a matter of hours—some said minutes—this would all be meaningless. Christ would appear, He would win the battle, and Rayford and Buck and even Tsion—dead, alive, or somewhere in between—would be reunited. Still, Sebastian couldn’t get Rayford off his mind. He had been trained to never leave a comrade on the battlefield, regardless. It made no sense that Smitty could find the blood trail of a man severely wounded and thus moving slowly and yet not be able to find the man himself.
The best Sebastian could determine, there were no enemy personnel behind Rayford. He could not have been captured. Worst-case but most likely scenario: Ray had dug himself a shelter against the sun and died there. Did it make a difference, given that he would be with Christ—just like the rest of them—when it was all over? Of course it did. Because you don’t leave a man.
How long had it been since he had checked in with Smitty? He looked at his watch. Too recently. And Abdullah said he would let him know at first opportunity. But Sebastian had to do something, short of heading to the hills himself—clearly an impossibility. He called Chang.
“No, I haven’t heard a thing yet,” the young man reported. “I sure wish you could be here, though. Thousands are turning to Christ, right here in Petra.”
That was wonderful, but Sebastian couldn’t bring himself to say so. Frankly, he carried a bit of resentment, even disgust, for those who had waited this long. Where had they been when all the judgments had come down? All the miracles? No sane person could deny that for the past seven years, God and Satan had waged war. Had these people really been undecided about which side they wanted to join? Any doubt about the reality of God and both His mercy and His judgment had long since been erased.
“I’ve got a call coming in,” Chang said.
“So do I,” Sebastian said. “Later.”
“Big Dog One, this is Camel Jockey.”
“Go ahead, Smitty,” Sebastian said.
“And, Techie, are you there?”
“Roger,” Chang said.
“I’ve spotted Captain Steele.”
Enoch Dumas awoke just after seven thirty in the morning. His musty mattress in the basement of an abandoned house in Palos Hills, Illinois, was warm where he had slept and cold where he hadn’t. And he hadn’t slept much. All night he had told himself that today was the day. He couldn’t imagine sleeping past 4 a.m., but the truth was, that was about the time he finally dozed. Eight in the morning, Central Time, would mark seven years to the minute since the signing of the covenant between Antichrist and Israel, a covenant that had been broken years earlier, but which marked the years before the Glorious Appearing of Christ.
The Place, his little church of thirty or so down-and-outers from the inner city of Chicago, had incongruously burgeoned since they had been scattered to the suburbs with the compromising of the Tribulation Force safe house. They no longer had a central meeting place. While knowing that they should trust no newcomers, every time they got together, more were added to their number. And because they recognized the seal of the believer on the foreheads of the newcomers, Enoch knew they had not been infiltrated. They now numbered nearly a hundred. While some had been martyred, a surprising majority had eluded detection and capture, though they busied themselves every day trying to gather more converts—“getting more drowning people onto the life raft,” Enoch called it.
Sometimes he even found himself urging caution to passionate new believers and warning them that the enemy was constantly on the lookout, eager to devour them, to make them statistics. And yet he was often reminded, usually by one of his own flock, that there was no other choice now than to be overt in their witness.
His favorite times were when the floor was opened and people who risked their very lives by assembling in secret would exude the joy of heaven when they spoke. He could not, nor did he want to, erase from his mind’s eye the testimony of Carmela, a fiftyish, heavyset Latina. In an abandoned laser-tag park about ten miles west of Enoch’s quarters, she had stood telling her story with tears running down her generous cheeks.
“I once was blind but now I see is the only way I can say it,” she said. “I was blind to God, blind to Jesus, selling my body to buy drugs and food. I had left everything and everybody important to me. Before I knew it, I only cared about me and my next high. It was all about survival, kill or be killed, do what you gotta do.
“But then one day one of you came to me. And it was her, right there.” Carmela had pointed to an older woman, an African-American named Shaniqua. “She handed me one of the brochures, about the meetings and all, and she said, ‘Somebody loves you.’
“I thought, Somebody loves me? Tell me somethin’ I don’t know! Men tryin’ to love me all day. But I knew better. Nobody loved me. Fact, they hated me. Used me. I meant nothin’ more to them than their next meal or their next high. Just what they meant to me. Nobody loved me since my mama, and she died when I was little.
“I knew the brochure had to be somethin’ religious, but her s
aying that about somebody loving me, and her havin’ the courage to give me the brochure when she knew it was against the law . . . that was the only thing made me not throw it away or cuss her to her face.
“I read it that night, and I’m glad the Bible verses were in it, ’cause I ain’t seen no Bible for years. What got me was that it wasn’t fancy, wasn’t hard to understand, didn’t get all complicated. It just told me God loved me, Jesus died for me, and Jesus is comin’ again. All them Scriptures sounded true to me, ’bout being a sinner, being separated from God, and Jesus being the way back to Him.
“Before I knew it, that was the only thing I wanted. I didn’t know how I’d live, what I’d eat, nothing. But I knew I wanted Jesus. Next time I saw Shaniqua, I just about attacked her, didn’t I, honey? I told her she had to tell me how to get Jesus in my life. She told me it was simple. All I had to do was pray and mean it. Tell God I was sorry for the mess I’d made of my life and take Jesus as my Savior. It ain’t been easy, but know what? I’m ready for when Jesus comes.”
The believers wanted to be together by eight this morning, and they had settled on a parking lot of a former shopping center. Enoch had warned that a daylight assembly of that size would surely bring out the GC, and they would be looking for marks of loyalty.
“Let ’em be checking us when Jesus appears,” someone said, and the rest applauded.
As Enoch quickly showered and dressed, he found himself less worried about interference. The destruction of New Babylon in the space of one hour had so thrown into chaos the international economy that it seemed nothing else mattered to nonbelievers. Suicides were at an all-time high, and he sensed an anti-Carpathian spirit among the formerly loyal.
Social and community services already devastated by the population loss of the last few years were now virtually nonexistent. And rumor had it that even local GC enforcement personnel would be hamstrung without fuel or money for more. Salaries had been frozen for two years as it was, and now it seemed clear to the populace that there would be zero pay for government employees until further notice.