Times of Tribulation: Christian End Times Thriller (The End Times Saga, #7) Read online

  Pouting, he replied, “No kidding. The Patriarch was rude and mean to us,”

  “Xander, don’t let him or anyone associated with him hear you say that, we might get beheaded for even thinking such thoughts,”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. So, should we do what he says and help out where it’s needed?”

  “I guess we should. But what about protecting Mother Earth?”

  “We’ll do what we can when there’s an appropriate time. Come on, let’s go find something to do that’ll please the Patriarch.”

  Nearly a month later, the citizens of the world were told that the Centurion leader would be speaking to the global community. So, nearly everyone on Earth watched the broadcast. The alien told everyone the reasons for the disasters, because Earth was being readied to join the galactic community. All the people of Earth would need to do was follow the Patriarch because he knew what was best. Once the people of Earth were united behind the Patriarch, peace, harmony, and unity would finally come to the planet.

  Once the alien broadcast ended, an instant poll conducted by UETN showed that the Patriarch was now more popular than ever. Amongst the believers, anti-government types, and others who didn’t follow the Patriarch, they thought the Centurion alien and the message it supposedly brought to Earth was a scam. If the intent of the Patriarch was to fool the fools, the people against him thought the scam was a job well done.

  Chapter 13

  Six hikers had been wandering around Big Bend for weeks, trying to find the Prepper camp they’d heard rumors about for many years. Of the six, four of them were newly saved Christians, wanting to escape the persecution of the U.E. and wanting to avoid being beheaded. The other two had rejected Christ as their Savior since the two had relatives who were Christians, told the two about Christ, but they rejected Him. Now their hearts were hardened and not open to hearing the Word ever again. The two would’ve preferred to stay where they were and obey the Patriarch, but came along on the hike because their friends had asked them to, but they still weren’t happy about it.

  “I read about this Prepper group a couple years back. They said they were in Big Bend, but I didn’t realize just how big this park was. Are we doing the right thing by coming here? What if they’re not even here?” Josh Harrison, the leader of the hikers, wondered aloud.

  “You said it yourself that you think God is leading us here, so have faith, Josh, that you’re doing the right thing.” replied his wife, Gwen.

  “I still have faith, but we’ve been wandering around for weeks. Where are they?”

  “Maybe they packed up and left. Maybe they decided to join the global community like everyone else with brains has done. Maybe the Patriarch found out about them and executed all of them. And if any of that’s true, you’ve led us to nowhere.” complained Bill Holland, one of the two who rejected Christ before the Rapture.

  “You’re free to go back, you know. The trucks are back near I-10, they’d be easy to find,”

  “I’d get lost trying to figure out my way back,”

  “Then please stop complaining!”

  Bill wisely stopped talking, but muttered to his wife, Robin, “This whole excursion is a waste of time and will get us killed.”

  “It’s too late to complain about it now, don’t you think? We followed them here through our own free will, so there’s no turning back now, you know,”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Bill decided to shut up, but kept being angry about the situation, wishing he could go back to Galveston, find someone associated with the U.E., and turn these so-called friends of his in to the authorities.

  While they were continuing to hike, the blazing sun suddenly stopped showing as much light. Unbeknownst to the hikers, Elijah and Moses had commanded that the sun, moon, and stars light be cut in third to show the Patriarch that he’s not the one in control. The air temperature slowly began cooling off and the hikers only had light jackets to keep them warm.

  “I wonder if the sun suddenly losing a lot of its power is the fourth trumpet judgment?” asked Gwen.

  “I don’t know, it might be. It had been feeling like it was over 100 degrees out here, so it’ll probably get into the lower 70’s to upper 60’s soon, which will be kind of cold for us. It’ll probably get even colder at night, so we should think about starting a fire pretty soon,” replied Josh.

  “What are you talking about? You guys think this is another one of those trumpet judgment that you’re always prattling on about? It’s probably some odd space phenomenon that’ll subside in a few minutes, so there’s probably nothing to worry about.” Bill interrupted.

  “Bill, like I said earlier, if you’re so unhappy being with us, you’re free to leave. Otherwise, shut up.”

  “Well.... I.... uh....” Bill shut his mouth, not knowing what else to say.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s start gathering firewood just in case we need to start a campfire.”

  While the hikers gathered wood so they could build a campfire, they happened to be closer to the Preppers than they realized. A camera had picked up movement and the hikers were watched for a while before the camera operator sent for Pete. Pete and some of the others had been watching television, even though there was hardly anything decent on anymore, they mostly wanted to see what the explanation was for the light from the sun being cut by a third. Within twenty minutes of the sun’s power being reduced, UETN cut into regular programming to give the explanation.

  “Good day to all citizens of the global community, we have some news to report. As I’m sure all of you can tell by now, the sun’s power has been cut by one-third. At this minute, there’s only one explanation, but we here at UETN find the explanation dubious at best. As we’re sure you’re aware, there are two men in Jerusalem who have been challenging the Patriarch’s authority for two years now, and claim to speak for God. Anyway, we have video of one of them, who claims to be the Old Testament prophet, Moses, striking out a third of the light from the sun. Here it is,”

  The video began: “Heed my voice, you who have not repented of your sins and continue to wallow in your wickedness. God is not happy with you and He will judge you for your unrighteousness. Because of your sins, the Earth will have a third of its light diminished from the heavens. As I have done before, when God commanded me to reach out my hand towards the sun, moon, and the stars when my people were attempting to leave Egypt, I will diminish, with the trumpet call of God’s angel, one-third of the sun’s light, one-third of the moon’s reflective light from the sun, and one-third of the stars at night. The people of Earth will only have eight hour days of full sunlight, use it wisely and pray for your deliverance.” Moses stretched forth his hand, instantly causing the sun, moon, and the stars’ light to diminish by one-third. Then the video ended.

  “We’re not sure how long this phenomenon will last and we have no idea if we will literally have eight hour days uniformly across the globe, but so far, everything either man has said usually comes to pass. Scientists we’ve spoke to aren’t sure how this will affect the planet, especially since we haven’t had any cloud cover or rain in months, but stay tuned as we gather more information throughout the day. As of now, we have yet to receive an official response from Patriarch Karimi or anyone associated with the government of the Union of United Earth about this latest crisis, but we will break into programming when they let us know something. This is UETN, peace and blessings.”

  “Those two men are beginning to make me think of my eternal life, especially with all the power they show. But, I’d kind of like to have someone help educate me about all this stuff in person before I make a decision,” replied Janet, turning off the television.

  “I’ve been thinking the same thing, Dear. These disasters are definitely convincing me that the Patriarch has no power at all, too bad the low info types out there will never see that.”

  “Pete, we’ve picked up six people outside near here. They look like they’re gathering firewood, since it’s gotten colder out there in the last f
ew minutes after being over 110 degrees thirty minutes ago. What do you want to do?” interrupted Miles O’Hara, who was currently one of four men on security detail.

  “Thanks for telling me, Miles. Please tell Brandon to keep monitoring the situation, while I round up a few others to go to the surface, while being armed, that way we’re prepared for whatever they might pull. Janet, could you prepare for new visitors if we determine they’re safe to bring into our community?”

  “Sure, right away.” Janet rushed off to prepare.

  Pete gathered ten men, made sure all wore combat gear, and equipped each with working weapons. They went through the blast doors near the surface and quietly approached the group, who were now sitting around the fire they’d made.

  “All right, don’t anyone move. Who are you?” ordered Pete, pointing his rifle at the group.

  To say the six hikers were startled was an understatement, some jumped practically out of their skins, while others clung tightly to each other. The six were definitely afraid of the men in black clad combat gear. One man rose up, put his arms in the air, and said, “Hi, I’m Josh Harrison. We’re searching for group called the Big Bend Preppers. I thought they were around here, somewhere,”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  Pete sighed, rolled his eyes, and replied, “Why are you seeking that group?”

  “Well, I thought they might offer a safe haven for those of us who are trying to escape the tyranny of the Union of United Earth. All but two of us are new believers in Christ and would prefer to keep our heads,”

  “I see. What makes you think they’ll make you feel welcome or even offer to let you into their community?”

  “I don’t know. Um, maybe because they don’t trust this government any more than we do and they might feel strongly about people being executed for their beliefs,”

  “These guys aren’t going to help us, whoever they are, they’re just messing with us.” complained Bill, but Josh ignored him.

  Pete pondered what to do next, but saw these six as harmless. It also helped that none of them had either of the marks indicating they followed the Patriarch. He also thought that if this Harrison fellow said he was a follower of Christ, maybe it would help Pete eventually make a decision. So, his decision was made. “Mr. Harrison, I’m Pete Robertson, leader of the Big Bend Preppers, you’ve definitely found us.” Pete extended his hand to the man and Josh shook it.

  “Thank God we found you! I was getting worried that we wouldn’t. So, what next, Mr. Robertson?”

  “You’ll come with us and we’ll get you settled. Later on, whenever it’s appropriate and I’m comfortable with the idea, you’ll have to tell us about Christ, why you believe why you do, and if any of these disasters will end if the Patriarch ever gets kicked out of office,”

  “I think I can do that, Mr. Robertson. I don’t want to push you into making a decision you’re not ready for, and I figure it’s up to you to know when you’re ready to accept Jesus as your Savior. Anyway, thanks for accepting us.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  While they were being escorted inside, Pete glanced over at the Holland’s, who were obviously not happy with this situation. Stopping Josh, Pete asked, “Are they going to be a problem?”

  “I don’t think so. Mostly, their attitudes reflects the fact that they rejected Christ and both of them have had surly attitudes ever since the disappearances. We were friends with them before all of this happened, but we didn’t know anything about Christ until we came across another group of Christians that led us to the Lord. This was right before Administrator Davis decided to start rounding up believers, so we decided to find a safe place, and I thought it would be here. Anyway, they’re all talk, I don’t think they’d attempt to sell us out, since they don’t have the slightest idea how to get out of Big Bend on foot,”

  “Do either of them know how to use shortwave?”

  “Not that I know of. Do you have internet access?”

  “Any access we do have requires one of us with the security codes to do that, so the internet is secure.”

  “That’s great, so see, there’s no need to worry about either of the Holland’s.”

  “Well, we’ll see.” They walked through the blast doors and Pete shut them.

  A few hours later, the world would hear the explanation about the light being cut in third from the Patriarch. Before the world leader came on, Pete said sarcastically, “This ought to be a doozy of an explanation.”

  The Patriarch appeared on screen with a smile on his face, and began, “Greetings, citizens of the global community. I’m sure many of you have been wondering about the cooler weather we’ve been having and why the sun’s power seems to have been reduced. Scientists have assured me there’s nothing to worry about, it’s just a local space phenomenon that’ll subside in a few weeks or so. It’ll get colder for a little while, but should warm right back up soon after the phenomenon disappears. Just like with their earlier declaration about no more rain, it’ll start raining again soon.

  “As to the rumors about those two gentlemen in Jerusalem who claim that they were the ones who cut one-third of the sun, moon, and stars light, well, that’s just not true. The two must’ve known that this was going to happen, through telescopes or some other technological means, just like they seem to have the technological ability to make it stop raining. They made a big production out of it and then make the claim that their God was the one responsible. Like many of you, I wish to see the two gone from this planet, so we can have our peace, harmony, and unity, but that time has not yet arrived. Dear citizens, please continue growing and planting like you’ve always done, as clouds and rain will return once the problems in space subside and we can neutralize the two’s technology. I wish peace and blessings on you and yours.” The Patriarch’s face vanished from the screen, replaced by the anchor from UETN.

  “I think the Patriarch is out of his mind.” Pete declared.

  “No, he isn’t. The Patriarch knows precisely what he’s doing, but I’m sure he will be out of his mind in a few more years. We’ll just have to pop some popcorn and watch as he tries to blame everyone but himself for the world falling apart around him.” Josh replied.

  In Puerto Rico, Administrator Davis complained to his staff, “We’re in the Caribbean, it’s not supposed to be cold here. If I wanted to wear a winter coat, I’d move to the North Pole! I wish Karimi would do something about those two in Jerusalem, before they figure out how to destroy the planet itself, and there’s nothing left but rocks and debris where a planet use to be. Without rain and proper sunlight, how are we supposed to grow anything so the region can be provided for?” Then he turned to the head of his security, and ordered, “I want more of those malcontents who believe in Jesus and the Hebrew God rounded up and executed. Maybe when all of them are eliminated, those two troublemakers will finally disappear for good. Well, what are you waiting for?”

  “I will get my men to begin more roundups right away, sir. Do you require anything else, Administrator?”

  “No. Before I’m done with them, those haters will wish they had never met me. If they don’t recant their silly beliefs, they will pay dearly for refusing to join us!”

  Chapter 14

  “The drones we had that were investigating the remaining volcanic activity coming from the Yellowstone have somehow become inhabited by some kind of alien presence and now we’ve lost control of them. They’ve transformed into some kind of beasts that are hurting people at random. We don’t know how to proceed, Your Excellency,” Clint Jamison, the head of the team investigating Yellowstone, was telling the Patriarch, who he was speaking to via video conference.

  “Are you sure it was nothing that you did to cause this to happen? You know how I feel about failure, so you better give me the right answer,”

  “We followed the appropriate procedures as we investigated the Yellowstone and other volcanoes. This was a totally random incident that we could never fo
resee. If you feel you should punish us, then that’s your right, as the sovereign leader of our planet. However, I would prefer you wouldn’t take such an action, since we could be useful elsewhere with other projects,”

  Karimi pinched his nose and rubbed his eyes, these events were starting to give him constant headaches, and the failure of those around him didn’t help matters. Sighing, he replied, “Punishing you and your colleagues won’t do much good in this case, but you are on a short leash, so I want you to do better. I want you to keep investigating ways of disabling these drones, because the damage they’re causing is worrisome, especially since the ones hurt by these drones don’t seem to die. That’s also something else I want to know – how come no one is dying when these possessed drones viciously attack people,”

  “I honestly can’t explain that, Your Excellency. It’s like death is taking a holiday, so we’re subjected to all sorts of horrific ways people who should be dead are still living. I’ve managed to avoid being harassed by these drones, but it’s not easy,”

  “Okay, seems like we’ll just have to deal with it the best we can. Thank you, Mr. Jamison, for briefing me on what’s going on. I’ll let you get back to work. Peace and blessings on you.”

  The logo of the U.E. appeared on screen, indicating to Jamison that the Patriarch was through talking. The Patriarch seemed to have a shorter fuse with each passing month since he had been in charge and with each disaster, he seemed to be ordering more people executed, and not just the so-called haters. I hope I can come up with a solution to this problem before too long, otherwise, he’ll have me and everyone on my team executed. Well, back to work.

  Jamison wasn’t sure anything could be done to stop the drones. When they ended up possessed, the physical structures of the drones were changed and the tools on board were utilized to hurt unsuspecting people. Jamison and his team could only watch as people tried to fight off the drones, but were completely unsuccessful. Those that were badly hurt couldn’t be treated, because some who should be dead weren’t. There was one example of a full passenger plane that crashed and was brought down by a group of drones. There should have been no survivors, but everyone on board had survived. The scene was gruesome. Some had major burns over their entire bodies, others had limbs that were partially detached, heads pointed the opposite direction or almost decapitated, and were hurt in every imaginable way a human body could be hurt. The badly injured begged to be killed, but there was nothing anyone could do.