Javon sneaked up, “You think Mom will be okay?”
Tavon’s forehead creased and he sighed, “I don’t know, Bro.”
Roya looked up as Jewel walked up with the man she had seen earlier. He was embracing her mother tightly. Jewel said, “Oh Roya. You have no idea how much I missed you.”
“Huh. Mom what are you talking about?”
“I’m terribly sorry for coming so late.”
“You came on time. You helped with the rescue,” Roya said as if she came back to her senses.
“I’d like you to meet Lance Wall, my fiancé.” Jewel said casually.
“Perfect timing,” Roya said sarcastically, and threw her hands in the air. She glared at her mother, “You could have introduced him earlier. You didn’t just do this overnight.”
“I contacted him while you were resting, and he came a long way to meet you,” Jewel said, tugging on his arm to come closer. “He wouldn’t allow me to come here alone especially hearing that it’d be dangerous.” Jewel said as she spoke in Roya’s ears, not letting her go until Joy ran up.
“What do you mean? Came this long way?”
“He traveled with me…before—”
“Before you saw me at the cathedral?”
Jewel nodded.
“What happened to him? Why didn’t he come with you then?” Roya roared.
“He stayed at the hotel. I told him to stay back while I did this…wasn’t the right time to meet you under those circumstances.” Jewel responded, reaching to console her.
“Don’t touch me,” Roya jumped back and turned away. “You had a new man, never even mentioning it until after I lost mine? Are you insane?”
Joy clung to Roya wrapping her in an embrace. Sunny took baby steps to her sister, tears glistening in her eyes. Roya turned to face the wall and sank to the floor with her daughter, sons and sister surrounding her in prayer. Her body seemed to shake with every tear she shed.
As Roya’s tears subsided, she stood and held tight to her sons as Lance stepped out from Jewel’s embrace and toward Roya. She saw compassion in his eyes. Jewel tried to reach for him, and he shook his head as he gestured with his hand that he had to do this alone. He held his hand out, upward, as she’d seen fathers gently do with their daughters for years.
Roya remained silent. Family will always be family.
She reached to shake his hand as Joy held on to her waist and followed every step she made.
Sunny wrapped her arms around Roya's neck. She planted a moist kiss on her cheek. Roya trembled as she watched Jewel and Lance leave the room. She tilted her head and cried on Sunny's shoulder.
“I cannot believe... I can’t believe that Mom would introduce her fiancé to me after I lost Solomon,” she whispered.
“Shh. Sis. It’ll be alright,” Sunny shook her gently into a rock.
“How long shall I bear this pain! How long shall I pretend and keep on moving like it never happened? When can I be strong?”
“Sis. Relax.” Sunny offered.
“Mom. You got this,” Javon added.
“I guess I should be happy for mom since she has been praying and hoping for a companion after dad died; but she hadn’t contacted us after all this time and now she wants me to be happy for her.”
“Mom, you’re looking at this all wrong,” Tavon spoke.
“How old is he anyway, Sis?” Roya rambled angrily. It was hard to hide her frustration.
Sunny whispered in Roya’s ears, “I have no idea. I didn’t even bother to ask.”
“Mom, you’re stressing instead of seeing this as a blessing.” Joy joined in with one of Roya’s favorite admonitions.
Roya nodded. “Guess you’re right, little one.”
“I know it seems bad, Roya.” Isaiah said in hopes to give her comfort.
“Hope is alive in Christ!” Joshua added. “But you still have your life,” His hands rose upward. “You still have us,” He waved his hands towards himself and others in the room nearby, “and we love you dearly.” He continued, “You still have your carbon copy in Joy, and your oldest twin boys,” Joshua paused as he moved closer. “You’re not alone. We love you. We all love you.” His eyes surveyed the room and darted at each person there.
“There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you!” Sunny said and cuddled Roya tightly.
Roya gave a weak smile. She stood up, shook to the side, and fainted. Joshua caught her before she hit the floor.
“Could it be the stress she was under?” Sunny said in response.
“Dehydration?” Sondrea said.
“Someone—get her some water! NOW!” Isaiah yelled.
After a lukewarm towel was placed on her forehead, Roya opened her eyes. Joshua and Joy stood over her body, and then helped her up.
“What happened? Did I…” Roya said, shaking her head.
“Yes Roya, you fainted.” He responded.
“Mom, are you okay?” Joy asked, looking concerned. “But…you don’t look so good. Have you even eaten?”
“I believe so.” Roya replied.
Jewel came sauntering out with a steaming bowl on a plate. “Glad you’re okay, baby girl.”
“Mom…I’m fine. I think? What is that?”
“I made you some chicken broth with the leftovers in the fridge. Here. Eat, my girl,” Jewel offered.
Roya smiled, nodded, and sat up to eat. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You all need some time…together…alone,” Isaiah answered.
CHAPTER 1
Save Souls
Roya Whitmore
Florida
The prophecy her sons had spoken struck a chord in Roya’s soul as she lay resting on a bed in the back room of the silo. She remembered the joy of truth sinking to the depths of her being as Tavon spoke. Her mind drifted back to when Solomon and she were in the community passing out flyers about the attempts to subvert the U.S. government.
Solomon was speaking to a couple with small children, “Why do you think Jesus Christ came to earth from the heavens?”
“I’m not sure,” the woman spoke. Her companion pushed her to keep walking.
Roya stepped in his path, “What’s the rush Sir? We’re talking about eternal life, not death.”
The man shrugged.
“To answer the question, Jesus Christ came to earth to save the world, not to condemn them.”
“Blah. Blah. Blah. Heard it all before. But you Christians do judge people!” The man snapped.
“We’re not here to judge or to condemn you! The Word tells us not to judge or else we will be judged!”
He responded rudely, “If this is true, then why do you assume we’re not already Christians?”
“Sir, I never assumed anything.”
She extended her hand to pass him the flyer. “We’re just passing out these flyers to prophesy to people about the Word of God and inform you what’s behind a person’s willingness to take a microchip.”
“Not interested.” He shrugged and refused to reach for it. He pulled his hand to his side.
Coolly, Roya responded, “Therefore, you’re telling me that you’re a Christian and you have no need of an awareness of the microchip’s capabilities?”
Solomon gave her that look: no sassy attitude.
“I feel I don’t have to comply, honey, let’s keep moving,” he said hotly.
“What are you afraid of?” Solomon questioned the man before they departed.
“What’s to come?”
“You’re going to tell me…”
“Have you seen how the war destroyed many of our soldiers and no one truly knows why!”
“I know why, but you won’t listen if I told you.” Solomon said.
“Have you seen how gas prices have skyrocketed to make those other countries like Iraq richer, and us, American citizens, poorer.”
“Yep. Your point?”
“We can hardly buy a loaf of bread to feed our family,” His eyes narrowed and his voice rose in frustration.
Solomon let him rant. He shook his head.
“You’re correct,” Roya replied calmly.
The man nodded and then folded his arms, leaning his weight to one side.
Roya’s softened her voice in compassion. “I can hear and see your frustration.”
“Right,” he hammered.
Before the man could speak, Roya spoke nicely, “If you come with us, learn more, your family will be fed.”
“If you want to discover your true talents, we can help you.” Solomon said, as he put his hand on the man’s shoulder.
The man’s eyes were glossy. He stood straight and glanced at his companion.
“We have cars that transport and recharge with solar energy…we’re still working out the bugs for other forms of transportation to get around. What do you say?” Solomon continued.
“I’ll have to think about it, man. It seems like you have all the answers…” He muffled and lowered his head in shame. “There’s a lot of promising stuff there. It would be a lifesaver.”
“Sorry to cut you off, but Jesus Christ does—and is! Please follow those people over there to your right, see they’re waving for you to come their way, and you can get your problems solved,” Solomon responded to his concern.
The man nodded and abruptly turned, leading his wife and two children towards the people who were waving in the distance.
We witnessed to hundreds that week, and several accepted You, dear Savior. With our duty to warn people of the coming chip, and how it would rule them, we were able to help people recognize the trickery of the enemy in the world’s systems.
Oh—I miss him, Lord, so dearly. How will I still have freedom to do what’s needed without him around? Lord Jesus, I know you’ll engage my sons. You promised Sol—and me!
She snapped out of her memory. She walked into the kitchen and saw her family gathered there, chatting with the senior members of the Alliance Crusaders for Christ. She glared with new resolve at her sons. “You two are right! We need to gather souls. Make disciples. Baptizing them. Go two by two. Speak to the nations. We cannot stop our mission because of Solomon’s death, and my babies.”
“Amen to that,” Terry clapped. “I’m here as a servant.”
“We are all here to serve,” she said as she glanced at Joshua. “Time for you to step into your new position. Calling. You’ll be the second in charge now.”
“Me?” Joshua choked on his words. He gulped.
Roya nodded. “Someone’s missing.”
“Who?” Sunny asked.
“Yeah, who?” Jewel implored.
“I want to know too,” Sondrea added.
“Lavonne?” Sunny said.
Roya responded, shaking her head. “No. Yosef!”
Yosef Malik
Yosef remained sedated until he arrived at the Immigration Deportation Center in Florida. He woke up yelling in a concealed bulletproof cell. A pale man stepped in the room with an unlit, bit-off cigar in his mouth. He seated himself on the corner of a beaten-up old desk parked in the aisle. The strong cigar smell on the man’s clothes tickled Yosef’s nose hairs. He groggily listened to the shuffling of paper, until the man found what he was searching for. Yosef shook his head. I’ve got to ask Judge Collins to update them on my progress through citizenship.
“Sir. Did you know that your application for temporary residency for citizenship has expired?”
Yosef shook his head.
“Speak.”
“No, Sir,” Yosef answered, looking down at his wrist. A strange bluish-gray bracelet had been strapped to his wrist. What is happening? Is this a tracker? Lord, be my armor.
“It was nearly two weeks ago—to be exact.”
“My apologies.”
“We’ve had many illegal aliens in our country. A lot of your people slide into the system. That’s why we have these terrorism attacks,” He said, following his accusation with a sadistic grin.
Yosef silenced himself. He wanted to say, Your People? Terrorism attacks? Who are you speaking about?
“You thought we forgot about you,” The man chuckled. “No way to track your activities. For all we know, you did instigate the last terrorist attack.”
Yosef remained silent. He kept his face without expression, hoping the Lord would permit the expression of innocence to shine through. He channeled his energy to remain calm and positive. He trusted for a good outcome, and was willing to complete the necessary paperwork to update his work Visa.
“Well now, our president has changed our security methods to handle all fraud and crime by implantation in most of the immigrants to keep track of you people! Let’s see here,” the officer said, turning pages with agonizing slowness. He looked up and said, “How old are you, man?”
“Does it matter?”
“Answer the question.”
“Twenty-five,” Yosef responded.
“You lie,” the man blurted in an angry tone.
“You want to send me back to my country. Is this,” he asked, indicating the bracelet, “a tracker?”
“We’re just executing the laws. It’s the only way we can determine if you’re a fit person to assimilate into our country’s citizenship. You’ll gain your citizenship, and freedom, once we’ve watched your activities for a while. Those who have let their papers expire give us only one way to handle it, period. If we determine that you can safely return to your country, we send you back.”
“But I have rights. I’d like to make a phone call!” Yosef threw his hands in the air. “It’s just a misunderstanding. My lawyer has the paperwork, and I do have a right to call him,” Yosef repeated, remembering the words Judge Collins had carefully drilled into him.
“Son, you’re not in jail where you can make that one phone call.” He laughed heartily. “You’re going back to Africa and that’s final.”
“You can’t!”
“Deportation.”
“This is a mistake!”
“Now again, I’ll ask you, what’s your age?”
“Twenty-five,” He muttered.
“Well, Son. According to our laws, eighteen through twenty-five, you’re required to be registered with Selective Services too.”
“I’ve done that.”
“It doesn’t show on your paperwork,” He shuffled the papers.
He handed him his green card back. “Here’s your green card, expired. You know, son, you must update these forms every two years, right?” He chewed on his cigar as he ignored Yosef’s pleading eyes.
“Look. I’m not your son, Sir. So, stop calling me that.”
“Okay, son.”
Yosef calmed his tone, “Yes, sir, to answer your question, I am aware of my green card expiring.”
“You should’ve updated it!” He pounded his hand on the desk.
“I’m sure I can set it straight. Can I please make a phone call?”
“Sure. Who’d be up at this hour?” he handed him a cordless phone after snapping his fingers at one of his boys outside of the cell.
“Thank you, Sir. Bless you,” Yosef remembered that the Word of God speaks about blessing those who persecute you. He meditated on this verse silently.
After reaching and informing Judge Collins of his situation, he handed the telephone to the immigration officer, indicating that Judge Collins wanted to talk to him. He listened to the guard explain that his orders were to send Yosef back to Africa if the paperwork wasn’t there by morning. Yosef watched as the guard lowered the phone to place it on speaker.
He heard Judge Collins say, “I’ll bring you the paperwork. As Mister Yosef Malik has already stated, he was in the process of receiving his updated green card. Sorry for any misunderstandings. It was expedited to my address.”
“You have the updated one?” the guard asked.
“Yes. This is correct. His green card was received in the mail today.” Judge Collins answered.
“Okay. Did you say that you’re Judge Collins?”
“That’s correct.”
“You speak on Yosef’s behalf.”
“Yes, I do.”
“He’s already gone through Selective Services too?”
“Yes. All cleared.” Judge Collins replied.
Suddenly everything went dark. Yosef watched as the guard dropped the cellphone, and slowly sank to the floor.
Yosef backed away, not knowing what would happen next. A mist surrounded him, and he fainted.
The Task Force, following their orders, carried Yosef’s body out of the building, drove to the airport with a plane ticket and passport to get him on a plane to Africa.
Yosef had a migraine when he awakened from a horrible dream. He pressed his chest upward as he unbuckled the seat belt from his row seat on the airplane, but a hairy muscular man sitting in the middle pushed him back down.
Yosef frowned, saying, “Who are you?”
“Sit down!” the man shouted.
“If I want to get up out of my seat, I should be able to!”
“The seatbelt lights are on. I got my eye on you, Mr. Yosef Malik.” He pulled out his FBI badge from his blazer and he flashed it in Yosef’s face.
Yosef felt like he could chew and spit that badge out in his captor’s face.
“What, what is this supposed to mean to me? F.B.I.? F.B.I. stands for ‘Full of bull and interrogation!’” Yosef said rashly.
His emotions raced inside him. He knew that his friends in the United States needed him to help them rescue Solomon and Roya and their youngest children. He was so close to devising a plan to get them out until these men captured him against his will. His spiritual discernment was heightened. He strongly believed that Satan and his denizens had something to do with his sudden capture.
Marked Souls Page 3