THE DAY: A Novel of America in the Last Days (The End of America Series)

by John Price

  "Yeah, Hannah….it’s in the Bible. In Genesis If we curse Israel, we will be….cursed. God is deadly serious about Israel. He repeatedly says that He loves Israel and He will be its shield and protector."

  Hannah responded, "So….Israel won’t be totally destroyed, though the news out of Israel, and the prophecies in the Bible, both say that there will be a lot of blood that will be shed, before God himself intervenes and destroys the invading armies."

  "Max studied this deeper than the rest us," Beau added, "he concluded that the destruction of the Daughter of Babylon will happen soon….very soon….after America stabs Israel in the back and breaks its word that we gave in the Camp David Accords to come to Israel’s defense militarily if Israel is invaded."

  Audrey stood up and embraced Beau, asking, "Darling, that can only mean one thing. Right? How soon?"

  Beau hugged his wife, took his time and then said, "Audrey, my dear, eventually the US is going to get hit….hard….cataclysmically. God hasn’t thrown back the invaders of Israel yet….so we only have a short time. Once it’s too late for the U.S. to intervene….which quite obviously the White House doesn’t intend to do….then what the five Prophets wrote about will happen."

  Weeping almost uncontrollably, Sally gasped out, "We studied what happens next, didn’t we? Remember? The Daughter of Babylon will fall in one day….in one hour….and in one moment. We may be with the Lord….soon….right?"

  Beau was retired military so he had some idea how the destruction of the nation prophesied in the Bible would take place. "When we looked at those verses we quickly concluded the obvious - that the only way to destroy an entire country in such a short time is with nuclear weapons. You’ll recall that we also read that the fall of this rich, influential and powerful nation will happen like Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible records what happened to the land around those two destroyed cities, that is, no vegetation would grow. The limbs of the people who died were like blackened sticks. Those are signs of a nuclear event. A big tip-off to what happened was the description of smoke coming up as from a furnace. Cities burning fill the whole sky with smoke, but a mushroom cloud looks like smoke coming up from a furnace."

  Sally, her voice breaking, asked, "Will we be nuked?"

  "Sally," Beau responded, "only God and America’s enemies know what cities will be taken out with nuclear devices, but I seriously doubt if Birmingham, Alabama is high on the Jihadists’ list. Instant incineration, though, in a nuclear blast would be a quick and relatively painless death. If they do what that Congressional study committee concluded, and use ten nukes in America’s major cities, that will kill fifty or sixty million people in a moment. About the same number of infants we’ve aborted since Roe v. Wade. Sally, I know this isn’t a new thought, we’ve talked about it here in small group, but those who survive the detonations will be short-termers. That same study said that 90% of all Americans would be dead within a year of a nuclear attack on some of its cities."

  Scott decided to steer the discussion back to less frightening grounds, "OK, guys, we can’t change any of that at this point. It’s way too late to move offshore, so let’s discuss what we can do, what we will do if the next few days result in the nuking of America."

  9

  The Moshe and Sophia Guttman Home

  Petah Tikva, Israel

  Moshe Guttman finally made it home, though the streets filled with Israelites doing the same delayed him by an additional hour. Sophia embraced him with tears as soon as he entered their flat. After a family group hug, Moshe gathered the four Guttmans around the kitchen table. Moshe had been listening to Israeli radio on the way home, so he had a good idea as to what was happening 150 miles northeast just outside of Damascus. Nevertheless, Moshe asked his wife and children what they had heard and seen on television.

  Yitzhak, who did not resemble either parent, being almost six feet tall and swarthy in his dark complexion, was the first to speak, "Dad, it’s bad….real bad. Channel 10 has been streaming from the IDF satellites. There are hundreds, thousands of armored troop carriers, tanks and artillery racing out of Damascus….you know….on the southwest side of the Syrian capital, coming down Highway 7."

  Moshe rubbed his forehead and said, "I know, Yitzhak, I know. I just heard on the car radio an IDF report on Reshet Aleph, you know, 104.8. It’s pretty clear that there are as many as a hundred thousand soldiers, armed troops, maybe twice that, storming towards Israel. If that’s true, that not only means that our precious peace treaty is worthless, it also means that Israel will soon be at war….again."

  Sophia, who was a bit more conservative in her political views than her husband, replied, "I told you, Moshe, when the US put a headlock on Israel and made us sign that treaty that it was a mistake. The U.S. President has never liked Israel. Look at his background. He set us up to make a fake ‘peace’. Why? To give Russia and Iran, and knows what other Muslim countries, time to get ready to take us out….to shove us into the sea….as Iran promised."

  "OK, Sophie, OK. You were right, I was wrong. But, that’s history. So, Israel got snookered again. What’s new? Look at the holy scriptures. Israel was always a sucker for a peace agreement. God told Israel not to rely on Egypt for its security. He warned them that Egypt would be like a reed, when it counted on Egypt the reed would splinter and pierce Israel’s hand."

  "Why do we Jewish folks," Golda asked, "like to depend on everybody else, except the Creator?" Golda, an attractive raven-haired beauty, was the more spiritual of the four Guttmans, telling her parents when she was twelve that someday she wanted to teach the Torah. "As we were leaving soccer to come home we heard that the Chief Rabbi has called for a national fasting, prayer and mourning. He’ll lead it at the Wailing Wall. Why don’t we pray, Dad, OK?"

  Moshe led the family in prayer, asking for protection for Israel and for his family. After each Guttman prayed, Moshe suggested that it was still too early to enter the family safe room. The Guttmans gathered around their large screen television, with Yitzhak managing the remote control. Sophie put frozen pizza in the oven, as she didn’t want to take the time away from breaking news to make dinner.

  The normally coiffed and made-up newscasters on Channel 10 didn’t look so coiffed or made up, looking instead like they were under the pressure of breaking news, having to report to their Israeli viewers news that could eventually mean their death and destruction. The male talking head looked down at a paper just handed to him, scanned the document and looked at the wrong camera, reading at least two octaves higher than his normal broadcast voice.

  "An undisclosed source in the IDF is being widely quoted in Israeli media as saying that the IDF picked up a private conversation between the Presidents of Russia and Iran. This report suggests that the two leaders actively discussed an invasion of Israel, using men and armaments stored in large warehouses southwest of Damascus….Unh….What makes this report most believable is that the day to launch the attack, the day which was supposedly discussed between the Kremlin and Tehran, is today….Let me repeat….An undisclosed source in the IDF intercepted a conversation recently about an invasion to be launched today against Israel, launched from Damascus."

  The female newscaster was pale, her hands visibly trembling. She asked, "Ben, do you have a degree of confidence in this report? With the troop movement that the satellites are picking up, doesn’t that make it almost a certainty that Israel will shortly be….invaded? If so, then how do we explain the White House’s earlier claim that these are just joint military exercises?"

  Sophia asked Yitzhak to switch channels, to channel 2, which she preferred to 10 as she believed that the station was generally more candid with viewers on Israeli security matters. Channel 2’s news desk was centered on the screen, with a famous face having a discussion with the station’s lead newscaster. Moshe said, "Hunh. This must be serious….he was the top guy at IDF for almost ten years. Turn it up, son."

  The retired IDF general was saying, "….and that would be an accurate assess
ment. This is no joint training exercise."

  "General, can you tell us why not? The administration in Washington initially claimed that Russia and Iran are just engaged in some war games, nothing more sinister than that. What say you?"

  "Oh, I agree that they’re playing a war game, but the end result will be a real war, not some game, not some exercise. Look, you don’t put that many tanks, and armored personnel carriers and artillery, let alone over a hundred thousand troops, into an exercise. Look at that satellite feed on your wall. In an exercise you pretend you are at war by maneuvering your various forces to simulate battle strategies and such. You do not load them onto a highway, at full force and speed hurtling towards a target of invasion. Highway 7 is a well-known and used entry point to the nation of Israel. These troops are heading southwest straight into Israel. Anyone who claims otherwise is deluded."

  "General, that’s strong talk. Are you going on record to claim that the White House, that this President, was fooled….to use your word….deluded, into thinking that this was just a military training exercise, and not an invasion?"

  "I’m just saying that it has now become quite clear to the entire world that Israel has been invaded and that a major war has erupted in the Middle East. Even if the…."

  An off-screen hand pushed a document across the news desk. The newscaster apologized to his guest, saying, "General, so sorry. I’ve just been handed a released statement from the Israeli Defense Force press office. The Commander of IDF has just confirmed that Russian and Iranian forces have not only crossed the Syrian border with Israel, they are heading across the Golan Heights. There is also an unconfirmed report that Russian saboteurs may have disabled several air base facilities in the Negev. I repeat….unconfirmed. General, it looks like we won’t have to wait any longer to find out if this is an actual invasion of Israel. Your reaction, General?"

  "Let’s face the facts. The Golani Brigade and the mechanized elements of the IDF Northern Command were withdrawn and merged into other IDF forces as an integral part of the U.S. brokered ‘peace agreement’. This President made us pull back the forces that could have been used to help stop this invasion in its tracks. The same President who originally claimed this invasion was a training exercise had better change his mind against getting involved here and issue the order to send in American troops, quickly. What’s needed now….what’s urgent now….is for the President to pick up his red phone and tell the Russian and Iranian Presidents that the US military is on its way to the Golan Heights….that only an immediate withdrawal of their invading forces will avoid their total destruction."

  "Agreed, General, but what do you see if the U.S. sticks with the President’s earlier refusal? What happens if the U.S. won’t get involved in defending Israel?"

  The General at first appeared to be speechless, pondering the question. He leaned forward and slowly said, "If….that is, if….the US refuses to abide by the terms of the Camp David Accord Memo of Understanding….if America stabs Israel in the back and turns tail….then….well, I guess we’ll see if Israel ends up covered in blood and shoved into the sea, or if the IDF, weakened under US pressures, can save our country. Apart from America and the IDF there’s no other power in the universe that can save us."

  10

  America’s Kitchens and Family Rooms

  America’s network and cable systems were simultaneously interrupted by a National Emergency Message. Most viewers assumed that it was about the invasion of Israel. The President must have changed his mind and would announce that the U.S. would now come to Israel’s defense. But, instead of the President making a prime time public service announcement, Americans saw a different President on their TV screens. Seated in front of four American flags was former President Wilbur Jackson Calhoun, staring straight into the lens of the digital television camera. He wore a red and white striped regimental tie, bright white shirt and a finely tailored suit. The expression on his carefully powdered face was one of stern concern.

  "My fellow Americans. Your local station or cable network has made this time available for me to come to you with an urgent plea. As your former President, I am urging all Americans to support our President during this time of national crisis and war in the Middle East. Many are violating the law by criticizing our President’s decisions regarding the defense of Israel. These harsh and illegal attacks on our Chief Executive come on the heels of several months of widespread civil unrest in America. Much blood has been shed. Our President has taken steps to quell this unnecessary violence, including the imposition of martial law. In response to the President’s much-needed actions, though, some have violated our nation’s hate speech laws. Hate speech is against the law. I am urging you to report anyone whom you hear criticizing our nation’s President, which also violates the McAlister Act. Also, be sure to turn in anyone you know of who has not yet turned in their hate weapons, their weapons of violence, their firearms. To report hate speech and hate weapons, just call the FBI at the number on the bottom of the screen. It’s your duty as a loyal American citizen to help stop words and weapons that violate the law. Thank you for your attention to your civic duty. Together, we can stop hate speech in America against our brave and beloved President…..May God bless America."

  Ten days after the PSA message was carried across the nation, the Director of the FBI, an appointee and fellow college classmate of the President, released a news statement to America’s media. The release read, "As a result of former President Calhoun’s widely-viewed PSA message, the Bureau has received many thousands of calls, in all fifty states, identifying hate speakers in the callers’ communities. America’s dedicated FBI Agents are following up on each and every tip and will insure that appropriate criminal charges are filed where warranted. Hate speech is illegal in America. There is no right to criticize our nation’s leaders, especially the President of our country. Hate speech criticizing, attacking or ridiculing our nation’s elected Chief Executive is illegal and can result in significant time in jail. The FBI is serious about enforcing these laws. You are so advised."

  11

  Ambergris Caye, Belize

  "Yes, Mister Madison, we are Mirandizing you. You think just because you avoided going to prison once, that you can get away with the crime of harboring a fugitive? If you do, just think again, sir."

  John Madison was seriously concerned that he might suffer a cardiac problem. He knew that his blood pressure was nearing a dangerous level. He was close to physically grabbing the FBI agents on the porch of his Belizean condo and heaving them over the side. John had at least 50 pounds on each of the agents and at least four inches. He briefly considered what the prison sentence would be for assaulting a federal officer and whether the fact that it happened offshore would affect the number of years he would have to serve. Eventually, though, his better senses kicked in. He half-listened to the younger agent read him his rights. He had, after all, been read his rights back in Texas when the government tried to convict him for exercising his Constitutional rights of free speech.

  "….if you can’t afford an attorney one will be provided to you. Did you understand these rights that I have read to you, sir?"

  "Of course, I understood them," John replied in anger. "Now would you be so kind as to tell me why you’re here? Can you tell me why my government is so fearful of its own citizens that it has to spend tax money to give you guys a trip to the tropics? Don’t you know there is a war about to set the Middle East on fire? Don’t you have better things to do?"

  "Look, Madison, you obviously think we’re not aware of how much trouble you’re in. Your son is a fugitive from justice. The Texas jury may have exonerated him on the hate speech charges, but whether you know it or not, though we suspect you are well aware of it, he was then indicted in a sealed indictment, and…."

  "What? He’s found not guilty and the government still comes after him? For what? Sealed? What the…."

  "Calm down, sir….I’m not at liberty to reveal the new charges, but we thi
nk your son must have gotten word from somebody right before he jumped the border into Canada. Though his wife and children haven’t been charged with any crimes….yet….they appear to have fled with him. We have good reason to believe that they have come here to Belize and that you and Mrs. Madison are harboring your son. Thus, you, sir, are about to be charged with a class D felony."

  John Madison said nothing in response. He stared at the two agents, gritting his teeth, gripping and then releasing both hands.

  Recognizing that John Madison didn’t intend to reply, the lead agent barked, "Mister Madison, do you intend to cooperate with our investigation Are you going to tell us where your son is located? Where have you hidden him?"

  John Madison continued to be silent, just glaring at the agents.

  "Sir? Are you going to answer my questions? Failure to cooperate with an ongoing federal investigation can have serious consequ…."

  "Now you look….I’m not ‘harboring a fugitive’. I have no idea where my son is located….I wish I did. I just can’t believe that he’s been charged again with federal crimes right after being found not guilty in the first witch hunt. Gentlemen, if there’s nothing else, I have an important appointment with some Tarpon."

  "Very funny, sir. If you won’t cooperate that’s up to you. The district attorney will be duly advised of your failure to assist in the investigation."

  "The district attorney? Which district attorney would that be, exactly? Thanks heavens, there are no U.S. government district attorneys here in Belize. I no longer live in the U.S., so I don’t know what in the world you are talking about."

  "We don’t provide legal advice, sir, but I would highly recommend that you consult with your Texas attorney, Mister Webster, as I recall? He can advise you as to the federal grand jury sitting in Dallas and the evidence that has been presented to them concerning your son….and yourself. The federal government doesn’t take lightly to persons charged with crimes leaving the jurisdiction of the United States."