Hunted

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  The doctor drove by the guard, and Judd relaxed a little. He was tired, hungry, and thirsty.

  “Looks like you have a few scratches yourself,” the doctor said. “Anybody look at those?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Patrick Rose,” the doctor said, reaching back.

  Judd hesitated, then shook the man’s hand. “I’m Judd.”

  The doctor glanced back, and Judd pulled away.

  “Look, I can tell you’re not a hoodlum. I don’t think you’re going to rob me, and I believe your story about your friend, so relax. I’m going to help you.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “We’ll get some meds, then find him.”

  “Does this car have a jack?”

  “I’m sure it does, but I’ve never seen it. The dealer sends someone out if I blow a tire, but I’ve only had this a few months. You can look for the jack while I get my black bag.”

  “I’ll be going with you into the house.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “Are you married?” Judd said.

  The doctor raised his left hand. He wore no ring. “Not anymore. I lost my wife a few years ago.”

  They drove through a residential area and came to a house with an unattached garage. Dr. Rose stopped the car and held up his hands. Judd told him to put his hands down and stepped in behind him.

  Traces of light shone on the horizon as the man put a key in the front door and opened it. Judd followed, looking at the gourmet kitchen with pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. Counters glistened when Dr. Rose hit the light switch. The refrigerator looked big enough to hold food for an army.

  Judd was distracted and didn’t hear the soft padding of feet down the hall. Dr. Rose turned, smiling. “I want you to meet Princess.”

  Something growled in the hallway, and a huge dog stepped into the light.

  21

  JUDD took a step back and stared at the dog. It was a Great Dane mix and looked like a horse. The dog snarled, the hair on its back standing up straight. Judd had confronted dogs before, but he had never faced an animal this big.

  “If I were you, I’d take your hands out slowly and stay very still,” Dr. Rose said. “Princess doesn’t like unannounced company. In fact, she doesn’t like company at all.”

  “I have a gun,” Judd said shakily.

  “No, you have a pipe. I saw it in the car. Now drop it or I’m going to order Princess to—”

  At the sound of her name, Princess perked up her ears and Judd interrupted the man. “No! Don’t say it.” The pipe clanged on the polished, wooden floor.

  The dog sniffed the pipe and nudged it with her nose. Judd remained still, glancing at the back door.

  “Sit down,” Dr. Rose said. “Slowly. I’ll get you something to eat. You up for eggs? I make a mean omelette.”

  “I don’t have time. I have to get back to my friend.”

  Dr. Rose opened the refrigerator and pulled out some food. In a few moments he had the burners going and was whipping eggs in a metal bowl.

  “I noticed you don’t have the mark,” Dr. Rose said. Judd sat silently watching Princess. “That could mean you’ve had no contact with civilization for a while, or it could mean you’re an enemy of the Global Community. A Judah-ite, perhaps.”

  “I’ll never take Carpathia’s mark.”

  Dr. Rose mixed ingredients and poured eggs into a hot skillet. The smell of food cooking seemed like heaven, but Judd was prepared to jump and run.

  “You’ll eventually die, you know. They’ll catch you and lop off your head.”

  “Carpathia’s mark means a worse death than they could ever put me through.”

  Dr. Rose pushed the omelette onto a plate and put it in front of Judd. He noticed Princess had turned her attention to the eggs, thick drops of saliva running from both jowls. Dr. Rose fixed another omelette, cut off a large chunk, and tossed it to Princess. She caught it and swallowed it with one gulp.

  “It keeps her coat nice and shiny,” Dr. Rose said.

  Judd felt guilty about eating, but the food looked so good and he was so hungry that he dived in. Nothing had ever tasted better.

  The man opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carafe of orange juice. Because of Judd’s life in the underground, he hadn’t tasted juice for a long time. The sweet drink stung his stomach as he drained the glass.

  “So, are you a Judah-ite?”

  “What difference does it make? If I don’t have the mark you can take me to the GC and get your reward.”

  Dr. Rose glanced around the kitchen. “Does it look like I need money?”

  “You’re not going to turn me in?”

  Dr. Rose took a mouthful of food and sat back. “I became a doctor so I could help people. And I’ve never been impressed with Nicolae, though he did bring sanity when the world fell apart. Coming back from the dead was nothing short of a medical miracle, but I can see through the act.”

  “You don’t think Nicolae is god?”

  “Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t. At the end of the day, it doesn’t do much for my patients. Which brings us to your friend.”

  Judd glanced out the window as the sun rose through the clouds.

  Lionel shielded his face from the light rain with his hand. He had finally gotten more comfortable when the soft pattering of drops struck his face. He pulled the backpack over his face as the rain came harder.

  Lionel’s watch was on his left wrist, beneath the rock. He had the urge several times in the night to check the time, and he had even tried to look at it before remembering he couldn’t.

  Lionel glanced behind him and saw the cell phone in a puddle of water. He grabbed it, tried to dry it off, and stuck it in the backpack. He wanted to call Vicki, but that would have to wait.

  Lionel thought again about the fox and the snake. Had that been a dream? It had seemed so real, but he knew his mind could play tricks.

  “God,” Lionel prayed, “I know Judd would have come back if he could, so he’s either trying to get to me, or the GC have him. I trust you to help him. You are our strength.”

  Lionel thought about his prayer. God was his strength. It would take God’s power to move the stone. Unless …

  Maybe the reason God hadn’t sent an angel or brought Judd back was because God wanted Lionel to act. Did God want to show his strength through Lionel’s weakness?

  Lionel reached in his pocket and pulled out the knife. It was the one his father had given him as a birthday present when he was thirteen. The bounty hunters in South Carolina almost took it away, but he managed to get it back. Lionel opened the main blade and ran his finger along the edge. Was it sharp enough?

  “God, I need you to make it clear whether I should wait for Judd or do something else.”

  Judd couldn’t understand why Dr. Rose was acting like a friend. Could Judd trust anyone with the mark of Carpathia? The man’s eternal destiny was sealed, so there was no sense explaining the truth of God and the Bible. And yet, the man didn’t seem concerned that Judd was an enemy of the Global Community.

  Judd explained Lionel’s injury, and with each bit of information Dr. Rose became more concerned. Judd told him about the tourniquet and what his arm looked like.

  “He needs attention right now,” Dr. Rose said, “but I don’t think trying to lift that rock is going to do much. You may have saved his life with the tourniquet, but if he’s exposed for too long, things could get bad.”

  “He could lose the arm?”

  “He’s already lost it. The question is whether the rest of him will survive.”

  Judd felt sick. Lionel’s injury was Judd’s fault. If only he hadn’t sat on that boulder.

  “I’ll get my stuff and you can show me the way,” Dr.

  Rose said.

  “Why are you helping me? You’re just endangering yourself, and for what?”

  “I figure, if you’ve made it this far, and if you’re willing to risk your life for your friend, you deserve a chan
ce. The GC may catch you. That’s none of my business. My job is to help anybody I find who’s hurt.”

  Judd stared into the man’s eyes. What other choice do I have?

  “I’ll get my stuff and meet you in the car.”

  Judd stood from the table and froze as Princess growled.

  “Princess, sit,” Dr. Rose said.

  The dog sat.

  “Princess, friend.”

  The dog cocked his head, and Dr. Rose said the word friend again. To Judd’s surprise, Princess stood on her hind legs, put her front paws on Judd’s shoulders, and licked his face.

  A few minutes later, Judd and the doctor were in the Humvee, heading for the woods. Judd asked to use the man’s phone and dialed Lionel. It rang but there was no answer.

  Dr. Rose turned on the radio to a GC report of a midnight raid on Judah-ites. He quickly switched it off.

  “Before we got to your house, you mentioned you had a wife,” Judd said, breaking the silence. “What happened to her?”

  “She disappeared. She was carrying our first child.”

  “Were you with her at the time?”

  Dr. Rose shook his head. “I was at the hospital. The whole place was crazy that night. Women with babies disappearing from their wombs. Patients freaking out because their roommates had vanished. Nurses were gone. The security guard’s clothes were in a pile outside the emergency room.

  “We started getting accident victims after that. Car accidents, that kind of thing. I called the house in the morning, but there was no answer. I figured my wife had gone to see her family, but they didn’t answer either. I got home about three the next afternoon. Her car was in the garage, but she wasn’t at the house. I finally found her nightgown in the bed upstairs. She was gone.”

  “What do you think happened?”

  Dr. Rose shook his head. “I’ve heard all the theories, but it doesn’t matter. They’re not coming back.”

  “I know where they are.”

  Dr. Rose rolled his eyes. “Are you sure you want to risk preaching to me? I might turn you in.”

  Judd pointed the way past the safe house.

  After a few moments the doctor turned. “All right, tell me. Where do you think they are?”

  “First, I’ll guess about your wife. She was religious, right?”

  “Not until the last few months.”

  “Something happened that changed her, and she wanted you to change too.”

  Dr. Rose shrugged. “I guess you could put it that way.”

  “And the same thing happened to her family.”

  “Her mom and dad were already religious wackos. Teri just bought into it a little late. How did you know?”

  “It fits,” Judd said. “It’s because they believed the same thing about Jesus that they were taken.”

  “Right. And if you know all this, why are you still here?”

  “My family was taken just like your wife and unborn baby.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’d heard about God all my life. I never really took it seriously. Now I’m trying to tell as many as I can about the truth.”

  “What truth?”

  “That God loved you enough to die for you. That he made a way to come to him through his Son, Jesus.”

  “Yeah, Teri listened to a Jesus station on the radio,” Dr. Rose said, furrowing his brow. “So what happens to us? Will we ever see them again?”

  Judd pursed his lips. “Those who accept the gift God offers will see those who disappeared again. That’s one of God’s promises.”

  Dr. Rose slammed on his brakes and slid to the right. Judd wore a seat belt, but he still went flying forward.

  “That’s what frosts me about you people. You’re so sure about everything, and it’s all in the future. Someday you’ll do this, and someday God’s going to make everything better. At least Carpathia does stuff for us right now.”

  “Carpathia is the enemy of God. Those who follow him and take his mark—”

  “What? They don’t have a chance at your little after-death party?” He shifted and pulled back onto the road.

  Judd recognized the street and some of the buildings. They were close to the turnoff where they would find Lionel. Judd didn’t want to anger the doctor, but he didn’t feel right about keeping quiet. “I’m telling you straight what I believe. I don’t want you to get mad and turn me into the GC—”

  “If I wanted to do that, believe me, your head would already be rolling on the ground.” He paused. “What’s your Bible say about me?”

  Judd took a breath. “Taking the mark of Nicolae and worshiping his image means you’ve made your choice.”

  Dr. Rose gritted his teeth, but before he could speak, his beeper went off. He studied the number as he drove. “This could be a problem.”

  He pulled the Humvee to the roadside and dialed a number. “This is Dr. Rose… . Yes … okay, but listen, I’m on an emergency… . No, I understand. I’ll be right there.” He threw the car into gear and made a U-turn, cutting off an oncoming car.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Emergency at the hospital. Some rebels ambushed a high-ranking GC official. They need me to patch him up.”

  “Can’t somebody else do it?”

  “Head of the hospital picked me and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “What about Lionel?”

  “So that’s his name, huh? Lionel will have to hold out until we can get to him.” Dr. Rose scowled. “Of course, if we don’t get to him in time, God’ll just take him to heaven, right?”

  22

  LIONEL pulled the phone from his backpack and dialed Vicki. He needed to talk through his options with someone he loved. The phone was still wet, and Lionel couldn’t see the readout on the phone’s face.

  “Must need more of a charge,” Lionel said, placing the phone on the ground. A cloud moved and the sun peeked through, but the phone was still in the shadow of the rock.

  Lionel put his head back. His whole body ached. He had read the verse about Christians being members of a body, and that if one member hurt, the others did too. Lionel felt that verse with his back, neck, and ankle that he had hurt trying to get out of the rock’s way. His right hand was scraped and crusted with blood. His hair felt like it was full of ants, though Lionel couldn’t tell if bugs were really crawling on him or not.

  Lionel pushed the phone as far away as he could, but he couldn’t reach the sunshine. Soon, Lionel thought, the sun will move this way and I’ll call Vicki.

  Lionel had to think clearly. If Judd didn’t return, what would he do? How long could he survive on the food and water left? And how long could he last if the sun beat down on him all day? He looked around for the second sandwich and unwrapped it.

  Lionel remembered how his mom cut the edges from his sandwiches when he was little. Now, with his stomach growling, he devoured the crust. He made a quick inventory of his food and found one more sandwich, packages of crackers and potato chips, and a few cookies. He had four small bottles of water. That was enough to keep him going through the day. Judd would be back by evening unless …

  Lionel watched a cotton-candy cloud float through the sky. He closed his eyes and looked again, studying the shape. It looked like a face, with two eyes and a nose. Suddenly, Lionel saw Nicolae Carpathia’s face, the old devil himself looking down. Nicolae looked like he was laughing.

  Lionel closed his eyes. More than ever, he knew he was in a battle. From the moment Lionel had prayed to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, he had stepped into a war, not of flesh and blood, but an unseen battle of good versus evil. Lionel had sensed it early. Satan and his followers must have loved it that Lionel lied to his parents about his faith, but after the disappearances, Lionel knew he had to respond to the truth of the Bible. That decision hurtled him into a daily struggle against the forces of evil.

  But Lionel knew no matter how fierce the battle, he was on the winning side. The evil one would try to get him to fight with his ow
n friends, whisper things to get him to doubt, but Lionel had to follow God and listen to him.

  Lionel opened his eyes. The cloud was gone and he was glad. He looked around but saw no sign of the fox or snake. The rippling stream was soothing, but he also realized he had to go to the bathroom.

  A rumbling stirred the peaceful scene. An engine revved. Was he imagining this or was it real?

  Judd remained silent on the trip back to the hospital. He thought about asking the doctor to let him out, but someone would spot him in broad daylight. Judd said a quick prayer and ducked as Dr. Rose pulled into the parking lot. The man turned off the engine and took the keys from the ignition. “I don’t suppose it’d be smart of you to go inside with me.”

  “Unless you want to get me killed.”

  Dr. Rose sighed. “Look, I’m sorry about your friend. I’ll try to make this quick. Will you stay here?”

  Judd nodded.

  Dr. Rose handed him the keys. “Use these if you need to put the windows down. Don’t take the car. I’ll report you if you do, and the GC will be on you.” He got out and hurried toward the hospital.

  Judd sat quietly in the backseat, watching the emergency entrance and counting the number of GC cruisers. All Dr. Rose had to do was tell one Peacekeeper and Judd was toast. He didn’t like trusting anyone who wasn’t a believer, but there was something about this man that made Judd think he wouldn’t turn him in.

  Judd wished he could call Vicki. He had promised to get in touch, but Lionel needed the phone more. Judd opened the glove compartment, pulled out the owner’s manual, and found a diagram that led him to a storage compartment in the back. He studied the jack, wondering if it would move the giant rock.

  Judd put the jack in the backseat and waited. Am I doing the right thing staying here?

  Vicki awoke around 9 A.M. and asked if anyone had called. Shelly shook her head. Vicki tried dialing Lionel but got a weird ring.

  The baby, Ryan Victor, was sleeping when Vicki peeked in on him. Wanda had examined him and trimmed his cord. Cheryl was sleeping, so Vicki held the baby. Wanda paced the room, and Vicki asked if something was wrong.