The second coming, p.22
The Second Coming, page 22
He sprints toward her, still holding the little boy, who clutches his toy. Behind him, another explosion and a dark ring of smoke spew from the mountain. The explosion stirs the snow on adjacent mountains, and the rumble of more avalanches joins the screams and hissing of steam.
“David! Hurry!” Sonia cries.
David speeds up and shouts, “Sonia! Run! Run!” Sonia starts running along with the fleeing masses, dodging the streams of boiling lava flowing beside her.
A second avalanche gathers momentum, moving a lot quicker than the first one. People disappear into the snow all around them. Sonia stops hearing David’s shouts, and she tumbles to a stop and turns to look for him.
“David?” Sonia cries out. “David!”
As the avalanche and lava destroy everything around her, Sonia desperately seeks a glimpse of David or the little boy and sees neither. The little boy’s action figure lies on the snow alone, ashes falling all around it.
•••
At this very moment in Hollywood, the transient preaching man stands stock-still, staring at the sky, not uttering a word. Usually, people ignore homeless men. Today seems no different, but as he gazes up at the sky and stretches his arms toward the heavens, people start looking up with him. Within minutes, the sky becomes dark gray, and ashes drift down like snow.
The panic starts when the ground heaves powerfully. The streets fill with the sounds of screams, car alarms, and sirens. A short while later, there’s nothing but complete darkness and chilling silence as the thick ash completely blocks the sun.
•••
Mercedes strikes a match to light an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. Shawn lies unconscious in a bed with bandages around his chest and waist. Even though it’s daytime outside, it’s pretty dark inside the old, abandoned church. Mercedes moves on to light a candle on a nightstand, then checks Shawn’s vital signs and the bandaged wound.
At a subtle knock, Mercedes cautiously moves to a door and slides open the peephole to see Sylvia and Alyson. She lets them in and motions to Shawn lying on the makeshift bed.
“How’s he doing? Has there been any improvement?” Sylvia asks anxiously.
Mercedes frowns. “I would have to say not so good. He’s been in a coma for over a week now, his vitals are on a decline, and I don’t know how much more I can do. He needs a doctor, and to be in a hospital. I’m very surprised he’s held on this long.” Since Shawn is a believer and therefore doesn’t have a NWO card, he isn’t allowed to be treated at hospitals, which are all controlled by the Antichrist.
Alyson looks up to her mom. Sylvia holds her closer for comfort and says, “Mercedes, we truly appreciate what you’ve done so far. It was a blessing when you and Aaron discovered Shawn on the street and brought him here.”
Sylvia takes a deep breath and looks down, trying with all her might to remain optimistic. She slowly lifts her head and says, “It’s almost as if you were put there to protect Shawn. That’s why I know he’s going to come out of this okay.”
Everyone gazes at Shawn as Mercedes says, “I hope you’re right. We all easily could have died from that earthquake and volcano eruption, all that devastating destruction happening all at once.” Her voice breaks. “Hundreds of thousands of lives lost. And who knows when we’ll see the sun again, with all the ash in the air! It’s early afternoon and completely dark!”
Mercedes breaks down and starts crying. “More than half the city’s power is down. I’m hungry, tired, and so frightened over this whole ordeal. I don’t know what’s going to happen! My God!”
Sylvia hugs her as Alyson moves to Shawn’s bedside. Alyson is happy to be with her father because she believes she can help him.
“Hi, Daddy, I hope you can hear me. It’s Alyson,” she says softly. “I brought something to make you feel better, okay?”
Alyson opens up her coat and takes out the bronze water jug that Jesus Christ drank from at the Sermon on the Mount. “On your card, you wrote, ‘I’m sending you this gift for protection. Take it wherever you go, and angels will protect you from evil.’”
She places the bronze jug on the nightstand and continues, “I’m giving it back so the angels will protect you and bring you back home. And besides, I was hoping for a Rainbow Princess Barbie. That was a joke, Dad. You always laugh at my dumb jokes.”
There’s no reaction from Shawn. Instead of feeling crestfallen, Alyson kneels and places her elbows beside Shawn on his bed, her eyes shut firmly tight, hands clasped together. “Dear Lord, I promise always to be a good girl if you bring my daddy back. Please, my mommy and I miss him a whole lot, and if you can’t let him come home, then just let him come back long enough for us to say goodbye.”
Shawn slowly opens his eyes to find Alyson praying by his side. He uses all of his strength to move his hand.
“If you answer this prayer, I promise never to ask for another.” Alyson stops as she feels Shawn’s hand on her head. She opens her eyes, amazed.
“Daddy! Daddy! You’re awake!”
Sylvia and Mercedes rush over. Mercedes checks his vitals.
“Shawn? Are you okay? How do you feel? Oh, I miss and love you so much,” Sylvia exclaims.
Shawn answers with a weak smile, “I’m fine. I love you, too.”
Alyson grins from ear to ear as Mercedes finishes checking up on Shawn.
“His vitals are completely normal,” Mercedes says, confused. “It’s a miracle! I honestly thought we were going to lose you, Shawn.”
Sylvia kisses Shawn’s forehead and strokes his hair with love. “It’s a miracle indeed.”
“No doubt!” Shawn replies. “And thank you, Nurse Mercedes. Oh, I’m sorry—Nurse Myrtle.”
Mercedes frowns jokingly at him and says, “After the miraculous recovery you made, you can call me anything you like.”
Everyone laughs briefly, and then Shawn’s expression grows solemn.
“Listen, Sylvia, I spoke to your dad. He said it wasn’t my time and that we had to help free people from Satan’s prison.”
“Where is that bastard’s prison?! Oh, please forgive me, Lord.”
Shawn takes a deep breath. “Everything Goes, meaning everything goes you-know-where. It’s a gateway to hell, and LA is the epicenter. If we can send out an alert from Los Angeles, we’ll alert all ETGs.”
Mercedes looks shocked and angry, and her mouth drops. She chokes out, “You’re kidding! How could I have been so stupid! I could have ended up in hell? Forever? Oh my God! My friends—I have to warn them!”
Shawn holds up his hand to calm Mercedes down, and he struggles but manages to sit up in bed.
“Yeah, along with all the other people who think they’re living in paradise,” Shawn replies, trying to speak through his pain. “On the final evening of Satan’s seven-year reign, the doors will shut at midnight the world over—and remain shut. Whoever is inside will be stuck there forever.” Shawn gravely takes in their shocked faces. “Not everyone will be able to escape. Many will be left behind.”
Mercedes doesn’t look hopeful. “What’s your plan, Shawn? What can we do?”
Shawn looks straight into Mercedes’s eyes and replies, “We need your help getting in. They know you. You’re our only hope. We have to devise our plan now and be ready to go in a little over eight weeks.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been there for quite some time now. What if they suspect we’re up to something?”
“Then we lose,” Shawn answers firmly. “We have to take the chance, though. Don’t forget that we have good on our side.”
Mercedes gives a weak smile. “We don’t have a choice, do we, Shawn?” Everyone waits expectantly, and she sighs. “Alright, what’s the plan? I hope you know what you’re doing.”
As Mercedes and Sylvia gather close to Shawn to begin devising their plan, Alyson finishes her prayer: “God, you know I’m only an eight-year-old kid, almost nine, and I tend to stretch the truth every now and then, right? I know it’s lying, but I’ll do my best to try to be a good little girl from now on, okay? God, thank you so much for bringing my daddy back. Amen.”
She runs to join her family, finding her favorite place on Shawn’s lap.
CHAPTER 13
ETG Plan of Action
The whole city lies still beneath the ash. Most inhabitants stay indoors where it’s easier to breathe. Lathan, Samuel, Eric, and Ronnie carefully cross the ash-covered grounds in the dark, guided by a large flashlight.
“How much longer?” Eric asks through his comical bigmouth face mask.
Samuel stops at a directional sign and wipes the ash off with his hands.
“That way,” Samuel says, and everyone follows him.
They all carry bags except for Ronnie. Ronnie clutches a slim leather case. Inside is a Razer Blade Stealth, a small but powerful laptop, the only weapon Ronnie needs to work his magic.
They follow the route to the abandoned church, scanning their surroundings at regular intervals. At their journey’s end, Samuel and Lathan approach cautiously as Samuel knocks a secret code on the door to the church and stands back.
The door opens, and they enter one by one, removing their masks. Lathan hangs back, scanning behind them one last time. He finally enters the church and removes his mask as well.
•••
A few days later, Shawn, Mercedes, and Eric stand a block away from the empty entrance to ETG. Shawn has altered his appearance a bit by shaving his beard and wearing a baseball cap and eyeglasses. Mercedes seems tense, and Shawn asks, “Are you okay?”
“Something’s not right. It’s never been empty outside the entrance,” Mercedes replies.
“Don’t you get it?” He looks through a set of binoculars. “They’re allowing everyone in now—to keep in as many people as possible. And it looks like the metal detector has been removed altogether. Come on, we don’t have much time.”
Shawn puts down the binoculars. “Okay, guys, we’re going in. Get ready,” he says. His glasses aren’t ordinary; they have tiny, screw-shaped microphones hidden on each side, and Samuel, hiding with Ronnie in the bushes directly across from Everything Goes, has a micro earpiece stashed in one ear. Ronnie works away on his laptop to make sure the plan goes smoothly. Behind them, Lathan is putting on an ETG attendant’s uniform.
“Roger that!” Samuel replies to Shawn, and then he says to his team, “Okay, Ronnie, get ready. Dad, they’re going in.”
“May God have mercy on them . . . and us,” Lathan exclaims.
•••
Shawn, Mercedes, and Eric enter the lobby and walk to the attendant’s counter. The attendant is a young woman with a crisp uniform. She looks robotic and cold and doesn’t say anything as Mercedes takes her NWO card out and hands it to her. She takes the card with suspicion, scans it, and looks at a computer screen. As Mercedes’s profile pops up on the screen, she looks back at the guests and says, “Welcome back, Mercedes. We haven’t seen you for a long time.” The attendant gestures at the bowl of apple slices.
“Yeah, I know,” Mercedes replies, graciously accepting an apple slice and giving a weak smile as she takes back her card and continues, “They say this is a special night, and I didn’t want to be left out.”
The attendant’s expression shifts to a suspicious squint, and she asks guardedly, “Who said it was a special night?”
“Luther! Luther said if you have to miss any night, don’t miss tonight.” She laughs and consumes the apple slice, but the attendant remains firm and asks, “Do they have their cards? No one is allowed in without a card.”
Mercedes looks at Shawn as he checks his pockets to stall.
Outside, Samuel turns to Ronnie. “Okay, Ronnie. Time to shine.” He gives Ronnie a thumbs-up, and Ronnie hits a key on his laptop.
“Well?” the attendant asks as Shawn continues to fumble around. The phone rings, and she picks up the call. “Central headquarters, operator 620.”
Luther’s voice comes through the phone. “Let them in. They’re guests of the master.”
The attendant recognizes the voice and stares at Shawn with curiosity. “Very well, Luther—as you wish.”
In the bushes, Samuel sighs with relief. “It’s working, Ronnie,” he says. “Great sampling. Now get rid of her.”
Ronnie hits another key, and Lathan, now dressed in an ETG uniform, heads toward the entrance.
The attendant is still on the phone as Luther’s voice orders, “Meet me in my usual spot. Relief is on the way. Hurry up, now!”
“Yes, sir!” the attendant replies and hangs up the phone.
Lathan enters the lobby and approaches the counter with authority. He picks up the clipboard and surveys the log, then says, “You better get going. Luther’s waiting.”
The attendant doesn’t have time to think about anything else, so she takes her card and hustles away. She goes to door number three, scans her card, enters the foggy mist, and the door shuts forcefully behind her.
Lathan breathes a heavy sigh of relief, along with the rest of the team. Shawn leans through the front entrance and signals outside to Samuel and Ronnie. Both of them have been waiting for confirmation, and they scurry across the road and enter ETG. Ronnie rushes behind the counter and places his laptop in position. He connects it to the ETG computer system and presses a key. His laptop is now linked to the entire internal network of ETG.
“This is a piece of cake,” Ronnie says as he types. “Their first mistake is storing information inside servers developed by people. It’s like open season to nerds like me.”
Shawn removes his hat and glasses and urgently watches over Ronnie’s shoulder. They won’t get another shot at this.
“We have to hurry,” he exclaims.
“Okay,” Ronnie replies as he types quickly, “we’re set. Get ready for a busy switchboard, Eric and Mr. Turner.”
The three iron doors slide open, and a dense, foggy mist emanates from within. The conspirators stare at the gates in amazement.
“All we can do now is wait,” Shawn says to everyone, “and hope for the best!”
•••
Kantu Lafua sits at his desk at the Kinshasa Central Office, in Zaire, Africa, when all three doors at their local ETG branch slide open at once. He has been trained to contact the central headquarters in Los Angeles directly if even a single hair falls out of place. Kantu almost falls off his chair, alarmed, and immediately picks up the phone.
“Hello,” he says in his thick African accent. “We have some issues here.”
•••
The phones are ringing like crazy.
“Central headquarters, operator 620,” Lathan answers. “It’s okay. Calm down. We’re testing the system. Remain at your post for temporary evacuation.”
Lathan hangs up the line, and the phones start ringing again. He and Eric pick up and answer in the same manner for every call, gaining the cooperation of ETG operators around the globe in a matter of minutes.
After a while, Shawn turns to Mercedes, Eric, Lathan, and Samuel.
“Listen, I want you guys to wait for me outside in the van. There’s nothing more you can do right now. I’ll handle the rest of the calls; they appear to be winding down. Ronnie and I will take off once we confirm the evacuation’s happening,” Shawn directs them firmly.
“I . . . I can’t, Shawn,” Mercedes says. “I have to help the friends I introduced to this place. I feel responsible. I need to go inside.”
“That’s insane! You may not be able to get out!”
Clearly upset by the situation, Mercedes says, “I have to. I owe it to them! To let them know the truth!” Shawn shakes his head in disbelief but realizes that Mercedes is determined.
“Okay, but you can’t go in alone. I’ll go in with you; otherwise, we both stay here,” Shawn replies, and he turns to Lathan and asks, “Mr. Turner, can you handle the rest of the calls?” Lathan nods firmly and picks up another incoming call.
Shawn turns to Ronnie and asks, “Ronnie, are the NWO card signals complete?”
“Yeah, Shawn,” Ronnie replies, still working on his laptop. “The party should be starting anytime now.”
Shawn directs everyone, “Samuel, you, Ronnie, and Eric stay here with your dad. If we don’t return before 11:59, get the hell out of here! You guys understand?”
Samuel, Ronnie, and Eric nod affirmatively.
Shawn looks at Mercedes. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am. But you’ll have to eat an apple slice, the ones I told you about, Shawn. It helps you take in the illusion without too much resistance. Otherwise you’ll drastically slow me down, and we may not make it back in time,” Mercedes warns. Shawn pauses, sighs deeply, then reaches for the glistening golden bowl and grabs an apple slice. He pops the slice in his mouth and chomps resolutely as they enter door number two’s foggy mist.
•••
An immaculate red Ferrari stops at a gas pump in Modern City, ETG. The door opens, and a beautiful, exotic, young Brazilian woman emerges, wearing a white mink coat and drenched in Tiffany jewelry. She goes to the gas pump and pulls out her NWO card. She scans it at the pump and waits for authorization. After a few seconds, the young woman glances at the pump’s display with a blank look. She takes off her rather large Ray-Ban sunglasses to read the display again. After confirming that it reads what she thinks it reads, she screams and immediately gets back in the car and speeds off.
The gas pump display flashes the same message again and again in Portuguese: “Advertência! Estás no inferno! Evacuem imediatamente!” (Warning! You are in hell! Evacuate immediately!)
Not too far from the gas station is a jewelry store. A man wearing an oil-tycoon-style white suit hurries out of the store, runs to his limo, and jumps in. The limo takes off at top speed. He’s followed by other customers running out to their luxury, high-end sports cars.
