“He then made Jerusalem his world capital and outlawed all religions other than those worshipping himself or his image,” Adam was saying. “He moved the seat of his power into the Jewish Temple, called himself God and killed or sacrificed anyone who said otherwise.”
“The Abomination of Desolation,” interrupted Sam. That was all in the scriptures too.
“Indeed,” said Adam. “That was when all his followers began to emerge, recognized by the mark of the beast tattooed on their wrists. You both know what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah,” said Sam. “I saw them in L. A and they’re starting to crop up in other places too. The nest I found up north all had the mark.”
“It seems,” mused the Colonel, “that all those who bear the mark are able to carry on their lives unmolested by demons. In fact, we’ve heard rumors that the mark allows them to trade amongst themselves.”
“You heard right,” said Sam. “They had the full system operating in L.A.”
“Bear with me, gentlemen. Almost finished,” said Adam. “After the
… Abomination and the mark of the beast revelation, the Jews fled Jerusalem. Israel as a force to be reckoned with or an ally is no more. If we had hoped for some help from that quarter, we’re sorely mistaken.”
“And how long ago did this happen again?” asked Sam. If this event followed what was foretold in the Bible, it was meant to have been half-way through the Tribulation. Exactly three and a half years.
“The sub appeared roughly two months ago. I left Florida about a month ago to spread the warning.”
“Sam, you know more about this biblical stuff than any of us,” said Colonel Wheat. “What are your thoughts? What can we expect now?”
Sam collected his thoughts that were currently racing with the implications of all that he had heard. Even though he expected this news, it still came as a shock. “The Abomination marks the beginning of the end. The beginning of God’s final judgments. We are in the end times now. The end of this world. You thought things were bad now. They’re going to get a whole lot worse. More natural disasters, more disease, more famine — you name it.”
“How long have we got?” asked Colonel Wheat.
“We’ve got just under three and a half years until the final judgment. In that time, probably eighty per cent of what’s left of the world’s population will perish. The rest will have to fend off demons.”
“Actually,” said Adam, “we’ve got less time than that.”
In a synchronized move, both the Colonel and Sam snapped their heads Adam’s direction.
“What do you mean?” demanded the Colonel.
“I’m sorry, Colonel,” said Adam, sounding like he genuinely was. “But I wanted to wait until Sam was here so I could tell you both at the same time. Foolish, I know, but I figured another few days wouldn’t matter. I had to deliver the message in person, too — communications being as bad as they are these days.” He paused and took a long breath. “The British submarine crew gave us other news too. They only just escaped with their lives but before they did, they witnessed a massive ship-building effort along the west coast of Europe. The Antichrist is also collecting whatever armed vessels he can find. It’s an invasion fleet.”
Sam cursed himself under his breath. He should have known this would happen. The last time the Antichrist had invaded the U. S, he had been unprepared, ignoring biblical prophecy in his arrogance and youth. This time, he would get it right. Do it by the book.
Adam met both men’s gazes. “It seems the Antichrist is planning on invading the U. S again, this time with more conventional armed forces as well as his demonic army. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’ve tried to visit every active base or settlement left on the East coast. I’ve come to warn you.”
“How long?” asked Colonel Wheat, his voice flat and emotionless.
“We can’t be exactly sure. The ships needed to be finished, armed and crewed. Fueled. Travel time. Take away the time I spent getting here…”
“How long!” demanded the Colonel.
“Six weeks. No more.”
The Colonel looked down at his desk for a moment and then began rapidly scribbling. From where Sam was sitting, they looked like numbers. He was calculating. “Do you know where they’re going to hit us? Don’t you dare say the Eastern seaboard either,” he growled.
“Once again, our British Intelligence couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but it looks like they’ll be heading for New York. That’s their most likely landing.”
The Colonel screwed up the piece of paper he was writing on and started again on another piece. Sam ignored him, lost in his own thoughts. His mind was reeling. Six weeks. New York. An invasion fleet. His brother. So much to think about. He wondered how Grace would take the news given her fragile state.
He tried not to think about her. And yet, even though the present demanded his attention, the past intruded once again.
Chapter Fourteen
“ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
I t was at times like this, thought Sam, that he could’ve used a vehicle. Or the knowledge of how to drive one for that matter. Despite his best intentions and a surfeit of opportunities, he’d never taught himself.
It was getting dark and he was in the middle of nowhere. To be precise, he was somewhere in Ohio, heading East between Columbus and Zanesville. Probably not far from Wheeling but he couldn’t be sure. According to his map, he’d know it because he’d have to cross the West Virginia River and that river, pre-Rapture, was hard to miss. On his map it certainly looked big enough.
He needed somewhere to hole up for the night. Not that he was terribly concerned about demons — his glamor ability cloaked him fairly effectively. It was just that he wanted to avoid trouble in general and not draw attention to himself. If an invasion fleet was on its way, it would be best if they didn’t know he was travelling in the same direction. Besides, if he planned to keep this pace up, even he’d have to rest. That called for meditation and when meditating, he sometimes got distracted, letting his glamor slip. It would be best if he had somewhere safer than just open interstate.
He’d set out in the early hours of the previous day. By his calculations, it was just over a hundred miles to Wheeling so he’d made good progress. He always did when he travelled by himself, jogging along at a steady pace, pretending like it was the old days. Before the Rapture. Before everything changed.
It was strangely liberating to be alone again. Lately, he’d had his fill of human contact. He’d go for weeks without any and get a craving for companionship but as soon as he’d had some, he needed to get away. He knew this was anti-social but didn’t really care. It was not like he meant anything to anyone… but then he berated himself for being too dramatic. Adam cared about him. And Hikari and Aimi of course. Grace, on the other hand, he was no longer sure of. He wondered if she’d come around eventually.
He was glad he’d insisted on heading off as soon as possible. Adam had wanted him to wait while the rest of the force he was assembling prepared itself but the Colonel had agreed with Sam. Thankfully. If they had both been against him, he would’ve struggled to get out of the camp without permission. As it was, it had still taken him three days to prep and finally get out of the base.
The Colonel, more than Adam, accepted how effective Sam could be by himself. That was why he was being sent into New York before the defensive force. Sure, Colonel Wheat had also sent demolition squads ahead too but theirs was an altogether different mission. The demo squads were to take out, destroy and ruin whatever church they could find in the New York area, especially in and around Manhattan given that was where the forces of the Antichrist were most likely to invade and establish a foothold on American soil. Without churches, the demonic
