IN NEED OF A HOME
By KathyG.
What would Tess, Monica, Andrew, and Gloria do, if they found themselves during the end-times scenario prophesied in the Bible, prior to Jesus' coming? What kinds of assignments would they receive? How would they handle their assignments? This alternate-universe series is my attempt to answer that question, to surmise how the angels would handle the events of the Rapture and the Tribulation.
The first story in this ongoing series was written by Robin Day and myself. The rest, I am writing on my own.
In story #3 of my end-times series, a 12-year-old girl whose mother was brutally murdered is in desperate need of a loving Christian home. Will the angels be able to get her one, or will the Antichrist force her to be raised by an institution, to be brainwashed by the new world religion? And will a left-behind minister turn his life over to the Lord now that the Tribulation has begun?
PROLOGUE
The woman lay on the bare pine floor, moaning. Next to her, moonlight poured through the window, forming a rectangle of soft light on her face. Two straight-back wooden chairs lay tipped over, and her mementos lay scattered all over the floor. She could see the outlines of the furniture and other objects lying around. Since the air conditioner didn't work anymore, drops of sweat had formed on her forehead.
Across the room, her small black-and-white TV set blared in the background; the light emanating from the screen formed a rectangle of light on the pine floor below. She ignored the late-night movie that was airing at that moment.
A man had broken into her home less than two hours before, and viciously assaulted her at gunpoint. When she'd gotten out of bed to get a drink of water, shortly after midnight, he'd grabbed her from behind as she had entered the living room, and pressed a revolver against her temple. First, he'd raped her, then he'd beaten her brutally, then he had stabbed her repeatedly with a long butcher knife. Before leaving, he had turned on her TV set, loudly, to prevent passers-by from hearing her cries, then slashed that same knife through the telephone wire to prevent the woman from calling 911.
Now, less than an hour after the assailant's departure, the terrified woman lay on her back, trying to hold back her moans, and silently praying for help. Blood lay in a pool next to her side. At least, she thought, Rachel knew nothing of what had happened. Rachel Nicole Jackson, her young daughter, was spending the night with a friend, for the first time since the mass disappearances of millions of people several weeks before. Thank goodness she had finally agreed to let her daughter spend the night out, instead of keeping her at home as she'd done ever since that horrendous event had taken place.
"Please, God," she whispered, "don't let me die! My little girl still needs me. Please, God, save me!" She bit her lip. "I'm so thankful she's not here! That-monster-would have killed her, too!"
Shivers ran through Linda Jackson's body as she glanced at the soft rays of moonlight pouring into the living room. Outside, over the blaring noise of the TV set, car engines rose and faded away, up and down the New York City slum street she and her daughter had lived on ever since before her daughter's birth. Rachel was only 12 years old. With Linda gone, who would raise her? Not her husband-he'd been dead since Rachel was eight.
Suddenly, a soft, unearthly light flooded the living room. Biting her lip, Linda turned her head. "Wh-what-?" she stammered.
"Hello, Linda." A man stepped toward her. In the unearthly light, Linda saw that he had sandy-brown hair and was wearing a beige suit.
Linda couldn't believe her eyes. What was this man doing in her home? How had he gotten in without her hearing the door open? And why was he glowing like that? Was her mind playing tricks on her?
"Don't be afraid, Linda." The man smiled. "My name is Andrew, and I'm an angel sent from God." He knelt over her and took her hand. "God has heard your prayers, and he has sent me to be with you." He paused. "I'm an angel of death."
Gaping at the angel, Linda shook her head. "Am-am I going to die?" Her voice squeaked.
A serious expression creased Andrew's forehead as he nodded. "I'm afraid so, Linda." He squeezed her hand. "But you do not have to die without hope. God has been drawing you towards Him in recent weeks. He wants you to know that you can die with the peace that comes from knowing Him. He gives you that chance now."
Biting her lip again, Linda nodded. She'd been seeking to know God ever since the recent disappearance of millions of people, weeks before. "How?" she whispered.
Andrew bent over her. "Give your life over to Jesus. Tell Him you're sorry for your sins, the wrong things you've done. Ask Him to come into your heart and make you new."
Nodding, Linda did as instructed. As she finished praying, a new peace flooded through her. "Thank You, God," she said. "Thank You!"
She turned toward Andrew. "Please promise me something." She paused. "Please take care of my little girl, and see that she's in good hands." She coughed, then winced as a spasm of pain shot through her chest. "My husband is dead, and I have no relatives to take her in. Poor Rachel's going to be all alone." She gazed pleadingly at the angel. "Please see to it she's cared for, would you? By someone who loves her?" She grabbed his sleeve. "Please?"
Andrew nodded. "I will. I promise."
Linda winced again. The unyielding wooden floor sent a bolt of pain through the back of her head as she pressed it against its surface, trying to bear the sharp stabs of pain in her side and her chest. "Rachel's a good girl, Andrew. And she loves me so." She winced. "This is going to be so hard on her!"
"Yes, it will." Andrew removed a pocket watch from his pants pocket and glanced down at it. "But she won't face it alone. God will be with her, and He will send people into her life to help her through this." He snapped the watch's lid shut, and gazed at her face.
Linda closed her eyes. Suddenly, light flooded around her. She found herself standing, gazing down at the now-lifeless body at her feet. Andrew stood next to her, smiling.
"Are you ready, Linda?" Smiling back, Linda nodded. Andrew escorted her out the door into a flood of Heavenly light. At that moment, three other angels appeared on the scene.
"Oh, Tess, that poor woman," Monica said, as pain welled up in her heart. Tess nodded agreement.
Gloria, the newest angel, bit her lip. "It's all over for her." She adjusted her glasses. Without them, she could see only fuzzy blurs.
"For her, yes." Tess pursed her lips. "But it's just beginning for her daughter. Unless a good home is found for Rachel quickly, she will be brainwashed by the new religion being established as I speak." She shook her head with evident displeasure as she rubbed her fingers on her diamond brooch.
"And the Father wants us to prevent that from happening," Monica guessed.
Tess nodded. "Yes. And He also wants us to re-enter the lives of some people we ministered to, recently. As I told you on the day of the treaty, the Father has a mission for them. They will need our help to carry it out."
Gloria tilted her head as she looked at Tess. "The Dalys?"
Tess nodded. "Yes. The Dalys." She looked straight at Gloria. "But right now, the Father wants you to finish your assignment. He will send you back to us when we need you."
Gloria nodded acquiescence. As the nearsighted angel left the house, Monica gazed down thoughtfully at Linda's body. On the windowsill, a snow-white dove cooed.
END OF PROLOGUE
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