Page 29 of Firestorm

“How’s Blake?” he asked.

“Hopefully sleeping. I’m too restless to try.”

He grinned. “I know what you mean. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had more than a few hours’ sleep, but there’s still so much to do.”

She slipped into the chair beside him. “What are you working on now?” Sarah pointed to the laptop, and his attention returned to the program running there.

“My team has been busy setting up cameras some distance from the camp. We should be able to monitor any activity around the place from all directions.”

She was in awe of his talent. “This is amazing.”

He chuckled. “We’re going to use those same cameras to create a cloaking halo over the camp.” He clicked on another program. “It should keep anyone flying over from seeing the place. Like this.” She watched the screen. One minute it reflected the camp through the trees. The next—nothing showed but trees.

“How did you do that?” she asked in astonishment.

“What can I say? I’m a bit of a geek, and I had a lot of time while I was in Alaska.”

She smiled. “Still, it takes a lot of talent to create such things.”

He brushed off her compliment. “Thanks, but I’m worried about one of my cameras. It appears to be on the fritz.” He looked out the window. “It’s almost dark, but the camera isn’t that far. Want to take a walk?”

“Yeah, sure.” She stood and waited while he told the man he’d introduced as Garrett where they were going.

Outside, people were involved in a myriad of activities.

She and James passed members who were working on the solar panel system.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done. We need to get the panels operational if we’re going to be here for long.”

She glanced his way. “Do you think there’s a chance they’ll find us despite all of your precautions?”

He shrugged. “It’s possible. We’ve been on the run for so long. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but for some reason this feels different.”

The response had her curious. “Why do you say that?” They’d entered the woods behind the camp. James clicked on the flashlight.

“Just that I think we’re close to fulfilling some very important Bible prophesies.” He stopped once they reached the camera positioned in a tree. “Ah, I see what’s happened.” He pulled out his phone and opened a program. Soon the camera adjusted itself. “That should do it.” He glanced around the area. “It’s pretty here, isn’t it? You want to keep walking?”

She did. Sarah had forgotten how much she enjoyed James’ company. “That would be nice.”

They strolled along the path while Sarah mulled over what he’d said earlier. “You think we’re close to the rapture?”

He stopped and faced her. “I do.”

Sarah and her brother had grown up attending church. She’d become a believer as a teenager. Reading about future events and end times had been both exiting and a little scary. Now, she believed as James did. They were entering an exciting period in human history.

“We had to evacuate Cole Hernandez’s daughter from Israel recently,” he said quietly and told her about the supernatural events that had taken place over the skies of Israel.

“Like what was mentioned in the Bible?”

“Exactly. There’s no doubt our team was saved by divine intervention alone.”

“That’s amazing.” They started walking again. Sarah stuffed her hands in her pockets. “We only received a bare-bones report of the event on the news.”

“Pamphili has taken control of the news agencies around the world, or more likely, they’ve relinquished their power to him.”

There was something about Pamphili that gave her the creeps. The news around the world was touting him as the next Gandhi, but when the camera focused on his face, there was something evil in his eyes. “I have many friends who aren’t saved,” Sarah told him a little sadly. “I hate to think of them missing out.”

He reached for her hand. Surprised, she looked into his eyes. “Me, too,” he said.

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