She had faced him with a grin. “Sometimes the spiritual manifests in the natural, particularly as we approach the end.”
“The end of what?” he had asked.
“The end of the age and return of Jesus,” she had said with assured confidence. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she glanced at him. “You should know these things,Pastor.”
He shook his head. “I’m no pastor. Never really was.” Although he’d studied Scripture in seminary, he couldn’t remember learning anything about the Tribulation or the book of Revelation. And especially not anything about angels or whatever the glowing beings were that he kept seeing. Even during the madness of the tornado, even with all the debris flying about, Thomas had seen flashes of glowing metal, an ax, and even something that looked like a medieval mace. Crazy stuff. Maybe the Deviant insanity was rubbing off on him.
Now, as they made their way down a back alleyway, he glanced at Callie, fast asleep in her mother’s arms, and smiled. Ahead, little Carla held Tori’s hand as she walked beside Sara.
Aaron slipped beside Thomas, hobbling along, and smiled at him.
“I don’t know how you keep up, Aaron,” Thomas said, “but you’re pretty spry for an old guy.”
“Got no choice.” Aaron coughed and nodded toward Tori. “She’s a tough leader.”
“She is that.” Thomas could hardly keep his eyes off her. He’d been the strong one when they were teens. He’d been the one urging her not to give up, to keep going, to look to the future when she’d be free of her stepfather. How she had changed. This God of hers, bully or not, had been good for her.
Aaron leaned closer. “Do you really think she raised that baby from the dead?”
Thomas swallowed, ignoring a rising pain from a new blister on his foot. “I don’t know what to think. You’re the Deviant. Can your God do such things? And, if so, why would He be concerned with one little baby?”
Aaron scratched his gray beard. “Not sure.” He stumbled over a rock, and Thomas grabbed his arm to help. “God is distant these days. He’s busy pouring out His wrath on all sinners.”
Confusion swamped Thomas at both the man’s words and his bitter tone. That wasn’t the God Tori spoke of. She told of a loving God, a God who died to save mankind. “Sounds like you’re not a fan.”
Aaron shook his head. “Oh...oh… yeah, I’m a fan…just repeating what the Bible says. I mean, did God really say He’d heal the sick and raise the dead? Sure, it happened in the early church, but miracles like that haven’t happened for thousands of years.”
“Hmm. True. Maybe you’re right.” Yet for some reason the thought stole the spark of hope that had lit within Thomas that maybe…just maybe…he’d been wrong about God.
A few hours later, Tori led them to the back of an abandoned house surrounded by burnt trees that looked like the charred arms of the dead reaching from the grave. Thomas shivered at the thought.
Pulling out some crusty bread, she broke off a piece and passed the loaf around as everyone took out their water bottles. “We should be downtown soon,” she said between bites, though Thomas could sense the apprehension in her voice.
Aaron lowered to sit between her and Sara. “Shouldn’t we avoid downtown? Makes no sense to go where NWU troops are swarming, not to mention cameras and drones everywhere.” He shook his head. “Just makes no sense.”
Carla tore a piece of bread and handed the loaf to her mother. “Onafiel says we must go.”
Tori shared a glance with Thomas, and he saw the hesitancy in her eyes. Yet, when she faced the group, she said with confidence, “I sense that, too, Carla. So, we go.”
Aaron huffed. “You’re going to listen to some kid’s imaginary friend?” He looked over them all. “We’re going to get captured and killed. This is nuts!”
Beside him, Sara hugged herself and let out a whimper. “Yeah, maybe he’s right, Tori.”
Thomas quite agreed, but he didn’t say anything. He’d learned that when Tori made up her mind, she’d made it up, especially when she thought she’d heard from this God of hers.
Aaron put an arm around Sara and drew her close. “It’ll be all right. Shh now.”
Brianna moistened a small piece of bread on her tongue, then slipped it inside Callie’s mouth. “I’m with you, Tori. Whatever you decide.”
???
Tori closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. The safety, the lives of these precious people depended on her hearing the words of the Lord correctly. How many times had she thought she’d heard from Him, only to discover later that it had only been her own wishful desires? Surely, she’d matured in her faith since then, but it hadn’t been that long ago.
Rising to her feet, she moved away from the group, needing to be alone with the Lord, desperate to hear His voice. In the distance, sirens blared, drones buzzed, and something mechanical clanked and clinked. A woman’s scream echoed on the wind, bringing with it the scent of rotting garbage and pain—the sounds and odors of the Tribulation.
Lord, do I proceed to Atlanta?
The noise grew louder, attempting to drown out that still, small voice. She focused on the Holy Spirit within her, picturing the Lord sitting on his throne. The vision came to life. He smiled at her and reached out his hand as if to caress her cheek.Go as far as I tell you. That was all he said.
