Stung (36 page)

“We ran out of food,” Lenore said. “We'd burned everything in the house we could to keep warm. Finally, Tim had to go out and try to find some food, or we were going to starve.

“This morning I found him lying in the street a few blocks from our house.” Lenore bowed her head and whispered, “He had a loaf of bread and some meat he had found somewhere. He died trying to save our lives.”

Vicki shook her head. “I'm so sorry.”

“That girl, Janie. She saved my life. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't come along.”

“Somebody would have taken you in,” Vicki said.

Lenore shook her head. “When I saw my husband in the street, I thought about killing myself and my baby. Janie talked me out of it. She said she knew some people who really cared and could help.”

“Janie said that?”

“Yeah. She said you were a little weird about reading the Bible but that she was sure you'd give me a place to stay.”

Vicki looked at the floor. “She was right. You can stay here as long as you'd like.”

Judd watched people swarm around the Land Rover. They shouted and chanted, some with spears held high. They wore loose clothing and many had a cloth around their faces. Their tents were made of camel skin.

“What do we do?” Judd said.

“We will speak to them,” Mr. Stein said.

Immen grabbed his arm. “I'm telling you, I only know a few words.”

Mr. Stein nodded. “Can you make out anything they're saying?”

Immen listened. “It's something about God. He brings something … I'm sorry. I can't make it out.”

“He has brought us this far,” Mr. Stein said. “He will show us.”

The people stood back as the three got out; then the crowd rushed them and took them to their tents. Judd almost fell and feared being trampled, but they made it safely to the middle of the camp and into the tent of what Judd thought was the leader of the group.

Mr. Stein, Immen, and Judd were forced to sit before a small table. The leader stared at them, then whipped a cloth away, revealing several plates of food. Flies were all over the meat. Judd was handed something warm to drink. He took a sip and nearly gagged.

Immen sat forward and spoke to the leader. The leader replied and Immen asked a question. The leader answered for almost a minute.

“I told him you come in peace and in the name of God,” Immen said, “and he said something about a movement of their people. For some reason they've been brought together.”

The meal lasted until daybreak. Finally Immen turned to Mr. Stein and said, “They are waiting for some kind of message from the Great Spirit who caused the freeze.”

Mr. Stein whispered, “Have them come outside and gather round the Land Rover.”

Mr. Stein led Judd through the sea of people. Some were teenagers. They followed him, touching his clothes and chanting something.

When they reached the car, Mr. Stein put a hand on Judd's shoulder. “Please pray as you have never prayed before.”

“Immen can't translate,” Judd said.

“God will have to provide some other way then.”

A few minutes later the leader of the people approached the vehicle. He blew into an animal horn. The people crowded close. Judd figured there must be at least five thousand people.

The leader raised his voice and shouted something. Mr. Stein looked at Immen. “He has introduced you as someone who knows God,” Immen said. “I will do my best to translate.”

Standing on top of the Land Rover, Mr. Stein raised his voice. “Hear the word of the Lord, the maker of the universe, the creator of every living thing.”

Before Immen could speak, the people fell to the ground. Even the leader of the group was on his knees.

“Why are you speaking in my language?” Immen said.

“I'm speaking English,” Mr. Stein said.

As the people whimpered on the ground, Judd understood. “We're all hearing in our own language. It's just like the witnesses, Eli and Moishe. Tell them something else.”

Mr. Stein seemed overwhelmed at the thought that these people were hearing their language supernaturally. He composed himself and said, “Please, stand.”

Immediately the entire group stood as one. Judd shook his head. Mr. Stein had been right again. God had worked a miracle to get them here and another after they arrived.

“There is one God and Creator,” Mr. Stein continued, “and he has sent me to tell you he loves you.”

As Mr. Stein talked, people looked at each other in amazement. Mr. Stein explained that Jesus, the Son of God, had died as a sacrifice for the bad things people had done. If anyone would come to Jesus and ask forgiveness, God would come into that person's life.

Mr. Stein held up his Bible. The people inched forward, trying to get a look at it. Mr. Stein quoted several verses from Romans that showed that everyone had sinned and that the payment for sin was death and separation from God forever. The people gasped.

“But,” Mr. Stein said, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. You will live forever with God if you ask him to forgive you and become your leader.”

Many wept when they heard what a terrible death Jesus had died. The leader of the people stepped forward, tears streaming down his cheeks. Mr. Stein led the people in a prayer. Judd couldn't understand anything anyone said except Mr. Stein.

When Mr. Stein finished, the leader of the group climbed onto the Land Rover and hugged him. The people clucked their tongues and cheered. The leader called for quiet and asked a question.

Mr. Stein looked at Immen. “I think,” Immen said after a moment, “he said something about their enemy.”

“What enemy?” Mr. Stein said.

“There have been many tribal wars throughout the years,” Immen said. “People have been killed over a few missing animals. I believe he wants you to give the message to them.”

Mr. Stein smiled. “It is proof that they understood my words. We will go wherever God leads us.”

32

VICKI
called an emergency meeting Wednesday morning. The schoolhouse now housed four unbelievers and an infant.

“This is getting crazy,” Mark said. “I thought this place was for training.”

“We've asked God to show us what to do, and it seems like he keeps bringing people without the mark,” Vicki said. “Maybe that's the kind of training we need.”

“More outsiders, more trouble,” Mark said.

Shelly sighed. “What about this Carl guy you're supposed to see? You going to bring him back if he's not one of us?”

Mark looked out the window. The sun was coming up and cast an orange glow around the room. “Carl is different. I have to know what happened to John.”

The kids were quiet. Darrion leafed through her Bible and cleared her throat. “I've been reading the book of James. One of the verses says, ‘Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.' I think all four of our guests qualify.”

Vicki nodded and the others agreed. They would care for anyone God brought their way.

While Mark searched the Web, Vicki went to Janie's room. She knew she hadn't treated the girl well the night before. Even if Janie had put them in danger by going off alone, she had cared for Lenore and her baby. Vicki rehearsed what she wanted to say, took a deep breath, and knocked on Janie's door. When there was no answer, she peeked in and found Janie's bed empty.

Not again
, Vicki thought.

She searched the house and was about to tell the others when she heard a noise in Lenore's room. The door was slightly open, and Vicki saw Janie holding little Tolan. She was trying to get him to laugh. Lenore lay on the bed behind them, half asleep.

Vicki got Janie's attention. Janie put Tolan beside his mother and walked into the hall.

“You going to yell at me for being in there? I was just trying to help.”

“I'm sorry about last night,” Vicki said. They walked to Janie's room. “I won't make any excuses. I was wrong to yell at you.”

Janie sat on her bed. “And I was wrong to go off like that without talking to you guys.”

Vicki sat beside her. “I've been thinking about some- thing you said last night. I couldn't get to sleep wondering what you meant.”

“What?” Janie said.

“I said that you have no idea what the GC can do to you if they want information. You said you did. What did you mean?”

Janie put a hand on her elbow and pulled her arm tightly to her chest. “I don't want to talk about it.”

Vicki leaned closer. “Maybe it would help.”

Tears came to Janie's eyes. “The first place they sent me was awful. I was thrown in with criminals. I thought the detention center was bad, but this was ten times worse.

“I got mixed up with the wrong people. They were bringing drugs into the place. The GC nabbed me and wanted to know who was selling. I wouldn't tell. I knew what would happen as soon as I got back.”

Janie pulled up her shirt and turned so Vicki could see. “They stuck this electric thing in my back to get me to talk. The mark's still there.”

Vicki shook her head.

“So I know what the GC can do, and I'll say it again. I wouldn't rat on you guys.”

Someone shouted in the study room. Vicki excused herself and found Mark typing an answer to an e-mail.

“Carl's going to be dropped off near Kankakee day after tomorrow,” Mark said. “I'm going to meet him there.” Conrad looked over Mark's shoulder. “It might be a trap. You know the GC are going to be all over the place.”

“We've been through this before,” Mark said. “I'm going to hear him out.”

Mark searched for the best route to Kankakee, due south of Chicago. Conrad pulled up the latest news, and the others gathered around.

The top story highlighted a shiny object in the sky. At first, stargazers considered it a shooting star. It had first been seen during nighttime hours in Asia. But this star didn't streak across the sky or circle the earth.

A scientist from a leading university said, “Due to the speed of light and the distance from the earth of even the nearest stars, events such as this actually occurred years before and are just being seen now.”

But the man had to retract that statement a few hours later. Both amateur and professional astronomers agreed this was no ordinary star and certainly not an event that had happened years before. Though the experts couldn't identify it, they agreed it was falling directly toward Earth. It seemed to emit its own light, as well as reflect light from stars and the sun, depending on the time of day.

The head of the Global Community Aeronautics and Space Administration, GCASA, said it posed very little threat. “It has every chance of burning up as it hits our atmosphere. But even if it remains intact, it will probably land harmlessly in water. If it doesn't vaporize, it will no doubt break apart once it hits the earth.”

Vicki watched the coverage with interest. She flipped open her Bible, then asked if she could use the computer. She scrolled through the text of Tsion Ben-Judah's message, looking for a clue.

“What do you make of this?” Conrad said.

Vicki whirled around. “Get downstairs. We don't have much time.”

Early Wednesday morning Judd and Mr. Stein arrived at the camp of the enemy tribe. They had driven to a river and floated in a small boat with the leader and a few others who came with them.

After docking, they hiked to the camp. Several times they heard weird bird calls. “Those are the scouts sending signals,” Immen said. “They will be waiting for us.”

“Are you sure about this?” Judd said to Mr. Stein.

“God has not called us to be careful. He has called us to give the message.”

A group from the enemy tribe met Judd and the others at the edge of the camp. Judd noticed freshly dug graves nearby and wondered if these people had died from the freeze.