Read Online Arrived by Jerry B. Jenkins - Free Book Online Page A

“Don’t make a sound.” But when Judd leaned back, the chair squeaked.
    The woman pointed the gun at him. “I heard that! Come out of the director’s office, hands up!”
    Judd studied the angle of the gun. She was aiming about three feet over their heads. He thought of rushing the woman or hiding behind the desk, but neither of the options seemed good.
    Judd turned and picked up a beautiful glass paperweight from the desk. The delicate piece was about the size of a baseball and had been created in the likeness of Nicolae Carpathia. Judd carefully brought the object behind his head and threw it over the woman’s head. It crashed against the wall, shattering into a million pieces.
    The woman screamed and turned, firing at the wall. The bullet pinged through the hallway. Judd jumped up, lunged for the door, and slammed it. He turned the lock and dived for the ground as another bullet punctured the wall above his head. Judd hit the floor and pulled Zvi down with him.
    Zvi was panicking now, breathing heavily and shaking. “A friend told me he saw a man appear at one of the mass beheadings of Judah-ites. Right out of thin air. He wasn’t there, and then he was. Do you think that was from God?”
    â€œWhat did the man say?”
    â€œHe talked about God’s forgiveness, like you.”
    â€œI’ve seen angels do the same thing,” Judd said. “They come as God’s messengers to warn people about not taking Carpathia’s mark. And they plead with the undecided to choose Christ. It’s another display of God’s love.”
    â€œI won’t take Carpathia’s mark.”
    â€œIt’s not enough to be against Nicolae. Jesus said those who are not for him are against him. That puts you in some pretty awful company.”
    Judd could tell by the look on Zvi’s face that there was a fierce battle raging. He had seen the same look many times before. Those who rejected Christ seldom struggled like this. They simply threw their hands in the air and walked away. But Zvi was different.
    The woman outside cried and moaned. The gun clicked over and over. Judd opened the door to find her lying on the floor, her face buried in her arms. She had pointed the gun at her head and was pulling the trigger.
    â€œI’ll be right back,” Judd whispered to Zvi.
    Judd crawled on the tile floor, scooting on his knees and pulling himself forward with his hands.
    The woman looked wild, clawing at her skin until it bled. Big patches of hair were gone from her head. “Oh, God, help me. I don’t want to go through another one of these!” She finally stopped and put out a hand toward Judd. “Who are you?”
    â€œA friend. Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
    â€œYou’re one of them, aren’t you? One of the Judahites.”
    Judd didn’t answer. He simply stared at the -6 on her forehead, signifying that she was from the United North American States.
    â€œBefore the disappearances, before any of the bad things started happening, I went to one of those big meetings,” she said. “The kind they used to have in stadiums.” Saliva ran down the woman’s lips and onto her chin. She was sobbing as she talked, reaching out, then pulling her hand back.
    â€œA man sang and then another one stood up and talked about the Bible. I didn’t want any part of it. My friends and I were there to make fun of the meeting. And then I saw some people from my neighborhood going forward. I almost went with them, just to see what would happen. I almost did.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you?” Judd said.
    â€œI thought religion was for weak people. I thought I had plenty of time to decide. I wanted to have fun with my life. But …”
    With this, the woman flew into a frenzy of scratching and wailing. Her eyes flew open and Judd saw how hollow they looked, as if he could see all the way to her soul.
    When