Shaken (37 page)

Sam showed Lionel a shortcut to the Wailing Wall. Hundreds of thousands crammed into the area before the preachers, curious to see the two.

Sam climbed to a place where they could look down on the gathering. Lionel noticed many people kneeling by the fence directly in front of the witnesses.

“Those must be new believers,” Sam said.

Others in the crowd jeered and mocked the witnesses as they spoke with great emotion. Lionel thought Eli was near tears as he shouted, “How the Messiah despaired when he looked out over this very city! God the Father promised to bless Jerusalem if her people would obey his commandment and put no other god before him. We come in the name of the Father, and you do not receive us. Jesus himself said, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”'”

The crowd fell silent, and no one moved as Eli continued. “God sent his Son, the promised Messiah, who fulfilled more than one hundred ancient prophecies, including being crucified in this city. Christ's love compels us to tell you that he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

“We are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for you, so that in him you might become the righteousness of God. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which you must be saved. Though this world and its false rulers promise that all religions lead to God, this is a lie. Jesus is the only way to God, as he himself declared, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'”

Now it was Moishe's turn. He stood and yelled, “This world may have seen the last of us, but you have not seen the last of Jesus the Christ! As the prophets foretold, he will come again in power and great glory to establish his kingdom on this earth. The Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Come to him this day, this hour! God is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance. Thus saith the Lord.”

Now the two prophets stood shoulder to shoulder and spoke in unison. “We have served the Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son. Lo, we have fulfilled our duty and finished our task until the due time. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem …”

The two stood before the fence and stared at the crowd, not moving or even blinking. Soon people grew restless and called for more preaching. Others yelled insults at them. One man near Lionel shouted, “Carpathia's coming tonight. He promised to shut you up and he has!”

Lionel tugged at Sam's shirt and they walked away. “I think we just heard the last words of Eli and Moishe.”

Vicki and the others arrived at the Wisconsin hideout midmorning on Monday. The roads were terrible as they neared Lake Geneva, and several times Mark had to backtrack and try another route.

Darrion had referred to the place as the family's cottage, but to Vicki it looked like a palace. It was built into the hillside in the shape of an
A
. Mark parked as close as he could, but downed trees prevented them from going up the driveway.

The kids inspected the doors and found all the locks secure. A huge pane of glass had broken on the second floor, but it didn't appear that any looters had ransacked the place.

Since Darrion didn't have the key, the kids propped a dead tree against the side of the house. Conrad crawled through the second-floor window and let the others in through the front door.

Sheets covered the furniture and there was dust everywhere. Mark noticed cracks in several walls, but the cottage looked safe.

“You didn't tell us there was a basement!” Shelly said.

“I'll give you a tour,” Darrion said.

She took them through the cottage, showing them the things her father had built into the home. “My dad designed the whole thing. There's a lot of hidden stuff.” She opened a door in the living-room wall, revealing a huge television screen.

“The Gala should start soon,” Conrad said.

Mark flicked a few switches and shook his head. “Nothing works.”

“It's solar powered,” Darrion said. “My dad unhooked it when we were gone.”

Conrad found the brains of the solar contraption and hooked up the cells. “It'll probably take a day or two to store up enough energy. We'll have to watch on the laptop or listen in the car.”

Judd stood at the back of the tent and listened as Mr. Stein told his story to the crowd. A few still clutched invitations, but most thought the tent was part of the Gala and wandered inside.

Judd had rushed to Kasim's building earlier that morning and buzzed his apartment. When no one answered, Judd tried to force the front door open, but people came into the hall and yelled at him, so Judd left.

He walked onto the plaza and watched Kasim's window. There was no movement inside, and Judd worried that the men from the black market had returned. He was also concerned about the stolen sword. Would Kasim try to use it on Carpathia? Judd tried the apartment several times throughout the morning but didn't get an answer.

At the end of Mr. Stein's talk, a few came forward to pray. Many left muttering about “the crazy Judah-ites.” Mr. Stein asked Lionel and Sam to take the new believers back to General Zimmerman's home. Judd excused himself and walked toward the main stage. Huge towers held giant speakers that would boom the music and speeches to an expected two million people.

Judd noticed metal detectors on both sides of the stage and GC security guards milling along the sides, watching the crowd. Sound technicians and camera operators ran across the stage checking cables and microphones.

Judd walked through the crowd to the front and spotted someone underneath the stage. The man moved slowly toward the back. Judd shielded his eyes from the sun and shouted, “Kasim!”

The man turned and Judd cringed. It was a member of the GC sound crew. “Sorry. Thought you were somebody else.”

Judd went back through the crowd to Kasim's apartment. He buzzed again, but there was still no answer.

Lionel and Sam were amazed at the new believers. Each had been searching for the truth and had prayed that God would show it to them at the Gala. When they arrived at General Zimmerman's house, the General offered to let them stay and learn about God while they were in Jerusalem.

As Lionel and Sam were about to go, the General pulled them aside. “You've probably heard what happened to my famous neighbor.”

“Dr. Rosenzweig?” Lionel said.

“Yes. He was taken away by ambulance yesterday morning. He could not get out of bed. Couldn't speak. He is better, but they think it was a stroke.”

“That's awful,” Lionel said. “What'll happen to him?”

“He may be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”

Judd found a place where he could see the stage
and
Kasim's apartment window. The first act of the Gala opening was a Latin band. Dancers in tight costumes writhed to the earsplitting music. When the band finished, a man in GC garb rushed to a microphone and screamed the motto printed behind him: “One World, One Truth: Individual Freedom for All!”

The crowd repeated the sentence again and again, and people jumped into each other. The man at the microphone said, “Potentate Carpathia is scheduled to arrive within the hour!” People screamed and shouted, and Judd had to hold his ears.

“Would you please help me welcome The Four Horsemen!”

Judd watched a huge video monitor to his left as the popular rock 'n' roll band ran onstage. People filled the plaza and spilled around behind the stage and into alleys and empty parking lots. The crowd was like an ocean, rising and falling with movement. Some at the front held up their hands and started a wave, and quickly those behind them picked up the cue and continued it to the back.

As the sky gradually darkened, Judd watched Peacekeepers moving around the edges of the crowd. How could they possibly keep control of this many people? Security at the side of the stage sent each musician and dancer through metal detectors.

When Z-Van and The Four Horsemen finished, Judd noticed a weird sound. At first he thought it was coming from the speakers; then he saw paper flying in circles atop the crowd. A line of helicopters appeared over the buildings, and the people erupted. The choppers landed on either end of the stage, and all ten regional potentates and several other dignitaries trotted onstage.

Carpathia was an evil, but brilliant man. He had divided the world into ten regions, each with its own supreme leader, or potentate. With the increasing death and destruction around the world, Carpathia looked to these leaders to keep their regions under control.

As the potentates hurried to their spots onstage, GC security forces followed and formed a half circle around the podium.

When everyone was in place, a final chopper arrived, carrying Nicolae Carpathia. The crowd went wild as he walked onstage and shook hands with the invited guests. When he sat in a chair that looked like a throne, the others sat.

Carpathia rose again and again as the applause and cheers continued. Judd noticed the security staff standing straight, eyes forward, not smiling or talking. They were focused on protecting their leader with their very lives.