OT: Okay, this is a Left Behind-ish story with my own made-up characters
and my own spin
on what COULD happen in Revelation based on the scriptures. It is a 3-
person narrated
story. It is narrated by Kyle Taylor, Tim Hamilton, and Lucy Chambers.
Enjoy and please
R/R if you want me to update.
CHAPTER ONE
BEEP! BEEP! A tired Kyle Taylor glanced at his watch. 1:00 A.M. Kyle sighed. He actually thought he was going to get some sleep tonight. He rubbed his eyes. He stared at the computer screen, re-reading his column for New York News, the newest competitor to the New York Times. He was staring at the front page of the newspaper two days ahead of time. It was times like this that made him wonder why his best friend and him decided to start this business. He could remember it just like it was yesterday. Pete Johnson and he had just gotten out of college at Syracuse University. They both majored in journalism. They thought that their friendship was pretty much over with college ending. Actually, it was just beginning. He still remembers that day.
"Hello?" Kyle said.
"Hey, Kyle. We need to talk." Pete Johnson said, excitedly.
"Hold on, Pete. How about, 'How are you?'"
"Okay, how are you?"
"We-"
"Good, great."
"Pete!"
"This isn't a social call. Oh my gosh! I can't believe it."
"Okay, Pete. Take it down a couple notches. What is it?"
"I got it!"
"Got what?"
"I got the loan."
"What loan?"
"The loan. You remember, I told you earlier. Maybe not in great detail but I did. I figured that it was a long shot but.."
"You got it."
"Yeah!!!!"
"So? I mean, I am happy for you and all, but what does this have to do with me?"
"It has everything to do with you."
"How?"
"Don't you know what I am going to do with the loan."
Kyle's heart sank.
"No.."
"Yes!!!!!!"
"No..."
"Yes!!!!!!!!!"
"Pete!"
"What?"
"You know we can't survive in the newspaper biz."
"Kyle, I'm trying to make our dream come true."
"Bu---"
"Come on, Kyle. Just listen. I got the loan. We will be able to pay the bank back in no time. I have already leased the building and got it up to code. I've already hired some guys to be on the staff for the month and we will get some responses after we put an ad in the Times about a job opening. I mean, how many people have writing jobs in this town? Practically noone. There is a lot of young talent out there. We would only be tapping the surface. We will get on the map, my friend, and I want you to be my head editor/writer."
"Wow, Pete. I mean, I still don't know about how smart this is, but you seem to have your head above water and I haven't been able to find a job in weeks here. I'm in."
"Great! Great! See you Monday. Uh, my secretary will call later to give the details."
Kyle shook his head. Man, I better stop daydreaming and start proof-reading if this is going to be ready to print by tomorrow, he thought.
Tim Hamilton desperately tried to steady the banner so he could write on it. The big white strip of paper stating in giant letters, Welcome to Youth Revival in bold, dark letters hung in the back of the Youth Group room. The young 25-year-old had always thought that his responsibilities in the church would largely increase when he became the Youth Pastor at Born Again Community Church in New York, but he never thought that he would be staying up this late in the Youth room fixing up for the upcoming week of revival. He had only been Youth Pastor for weeks and already juggled the responsibilities. I can't wait to learn more about the Bible from the evangelist, he thought. Tim planned on hurrying out on Friday so that he could have the weekly outing with his old high school buddies. Good times. Okay, so they were a bit on the rebelish side but hey, that is the price for being popular in school. That meant everything to Tim. He couldn't recall a memory of him ever telling anyone about God let alone dare to mention that he was a Christian. You just didn't do that in high school. In truth, he did a lot of things behind his parents back. He experimented with drugs, smoke, and drank for a while. Many times he came quickly back from school claiming he had to use the bathroom when he was really brushing his teeth multiple times to get the smell of stale liquor off his breath. In college, it was cool to drink so Tim did that for a while. Of course, he didn't do it now. Someone might judge him for that, and you never know how long it would last before someone would find out. It was all about keeping his reputation. He was always the model kid with all A's, attended church every Sunday Morning, Sunday Night, and Wednesday Night, pray a quick prayer, and squeeze in at least a chapter out of the Bible every day. Nowadays, he usually stuck to Psalms, came to church only because he was obligated to, and slept in lazily every day. He had a busy life as a computer programmer up until last week. He had been let go after the computer company had been dissolved by Microsoft. He had been living the past couple of weeks on some money he always kept in case of emergencies.
He was done decorating for the revival and decided to get a drink. He looked around the building and when he was sure no one was looking, he grabbed a bottle of liquor out of his back pocket and drank. Okay, so I have closet hobbies, who doesn't?, he thought to himself. Looking at the bottle reminded him of his father who had drank during Vietnam. He quit soon after. He always said that that generation was a crazy one. Everyone was doing drugs and drinking. His father always seemed so perfect growing up so this stunned him. He wished he could talk to his parents now. Ever since they died in a car crash, nothing had been the same.
"What is up with the people in this town?!?" Lucy Chambers said aloud to herself, hands clutching the steering wheel waiting for the precise moment.
The 18-year old freshman at UCLA was stuck in a traffic jam. Well, what else do I expect for going away to college in one of the most populated cities in the U.S., Los Angeles, California. She smiled as she remembered the freaked-out look on her parents' faces when she gave them the news that she was moving to the West Coast for college. UCLA was the only major college that accepted her. Besides, she always wanted to move away from home and start a new life. She would visit often enough. I can't believe this! I have to work on a paper and I can't even make it back to my apartment to work on it because of some stupid music festival clogging up the roads downtown, she thought. While traffic was at a stand-still, she pulled her laptop out from the back seat. For a second, she caught herself admiring the top. She told her parents that she was "forced" to have some type of computer for college but in truth, she wanted it just as badly.
Growing up, her family was one of the only ones in the state of New York that didn't have one computer. She loathed not being ahead in life but her parents were people to be considered "thrifty". They were the type that would never, ever bet on the stock market. They would never go gambling. So big purchases were few and far between. Her parents hadn't gone to college and that would be Lucy's future as well because they just didn't have the money. Lucy was frustrated with her family's income and seemed to not be able to get enough of money. She thought that was the end of her problems until her family became "religious nuts". They started telling Lucy to not worry about money so much. They told her that money is the root of all evil. If money is the root of all evil, then call me the devil, she had said. Of course, they were inconsolable after that remark. They started telling her all of these fables about how God came to earth and died for her sins. Lucy thought that they lost their minds. Her parents began to go to a local church and tried to get her to come. She refused on every occasion. All that just contributed to her wanting to get away. After high school graduation, she had saved up enough through odd jobs and working night shifts at grocery stores since 14 to earn her tuition. It had been hard work but she figured that at least 50%-75% of her wages went to that college fund. She decided to major in computer programming and maybe start her own web-based company some day or something.
She opened up her laptop and worked on her paper as the traffic began to let up finally.
CHAPTER ONE
BEEP! BEEP! A tired Kyle Taylor glanced at his watch. 1:00 A.M. Kyle sighed. He actually thought he was going to get some sleep tonight. He rubbed his eyes. He stared at the computer screen, re-reading his column for New York News, the newest competitor to the New York Times. He was staring at the front page of the newspaper two days ahead of time. It was times like this that made him wonder why his best friend and him decided to start this business. He could remember it just like it was yesterday. Pete Johnson and he had just gotten out of college at Syracuse University. They both majored in journalism. They thought that their friendship was pretty much over with college ending. Actually, it was just beginning. He still remembers that day.
"Hello?" Kyle said.
"Hey, Kyle. We need to talk." Pete Johnson said, excitedly.
"Hold on, Pete. How about, 'How are you?'"
"Okay, how are you?"
"We-"
"Good, great."
"Pete!"
"This isn't a social call. Oh my gosh! I can't believe it."
"Okay, Pete. Take it down a couple notches. What is it?"
"I got it!"
"Got what?"
"I got the loan."
"What loan?"
"The loan. You remember, I told you earlier. Maybe not in great detail but I did. I figured that it was a long shot but.."
"You got it."
"Yeah!!!!"
"So? I mean, I am happy for you and all, but what does this have to do with me?"
"It has everything to do with you."
"How?"
"Don't you know what I am going to do with the loan."
Kyle's heart sank.
"No.."
"Yes!!!!!!"
"No..."
"Yes!!!!!!!!!"
"Pete!"
"What?"
"You know we can't survive in the newspaper biz."
"Kyle, I'm trying to make our dream come true."
"Bu---"
"Come on, Kyle. Just listen. I got the loan. We will be able to pay the bank back in no time. I have already leased the building and got it up to code. I've already hired some guys to be on the staff for the month and we will get some responses after we put an ad in the Times about a job opening. I mean, how many people have writing jobs in this town? Practically noone. There is a lot of young talent out there. We would only be tapping the surface. We will get on the map, my friend, and I want you to be my head editor/writer."
"Wow, Pete. I mean, I still don't know about how smart this is, but you seem to have your head above water and I haven't been able to find a job in weeks here. I'm in."
"Great! Great! See you Monday. Uh, my secretary will call later to give the details."
Kyle shook his head. Man, I better stop daydreaming and start proof-reading if this is going to be ready to print by tomorrow, he thought.
Tim Hamilton desperately tried to steady the banner so he could write on it. The big white strip of paper stating in giant letters, Welcome to Youth Revival in bold, dark letters hung in the back of the Youth Group room. The young 25-year-old had always thought that his responsibilities in the church would largely increase when he became the Youth Pastor at Born Again Community Church in New York, but he never thought that he would be staying up this late in the Youth room fixing up for the upcoming week of revival. He had only been Youth Pastor for weeks and already juggled the responsibilities. I can't wait to learn more about the Bible from the evangelist, he thought. Tim planned on hurrying out on Friday so that he could have the weekly outing with his old high school buddies. Good times. Okay, so they were a bit on the rebelish side but hey, that is the price for being popular in school. That meant everything to Tim. He couldn't recall a memory of him ever telling anyone about God let alone dare to mention that he was a Christian. You just didn't do that in high school. In truth, he did a lot of things behind his parents back. He experimented with drugs, smoke, and drank for a while. Many times he came quickly back from school claiming he had to use the bathroom when he was really brushing his teeth multiple times to get the smell of stale liquor off his breath. In college, it was cool to drink so Tim did that for a while. Of course, he didn't do it now. Someone might judge him for that, and you never know how long it would last before someone would find out. It was all about keeping his reputation. He was always the model kid with all A's, attended church every Sunday Morning, Sunday Night, and Wednesday Night, pray a quick prayer, and squeeze in at least a chapter out of the Bible every day. Nowadays, he usually stuck to Psalms, came to church only because he was obligated to, and slept in lazily every day. He had a busy life as a computer programmer up until last week. He had been let go after the computer company had been dissolved by Microsoft. He had been living the past couple of weeks on some money he always kept in case of emergencies.
He was done decorating for the revival and decided to get a drink. He looked around the building and when he was sure no one was looking, he grabbed a bottle of liquor out of his back pocket and drank. Okay, so I have closet hobbies, who doesn't?, he thought to himself. Looking at the bottle reminded him of his father who had drank during Vietnam. He quit soon after. He always said that that generation was a crazy one. Everyone was doing drugs and drinking. His father always seemed so perfect growing up so this stunned him. He wished he could talk to his parents now. Ever since they died in a car crash, nothing had been the same.
"What is up with the people in this town?!?" Lucy Chambers said aloud to herself, hands clutching the steering wheel waiting for the precise moment.
The 18-year old freshman at UCLA was stuck in a traffic jam. Well, what else do I expect for going away to college in one of the most populated cities in the U.S., Los Angeles, California. She smiled as she remembered the freaked-out look on her parents' faces when she gave them the news that she was moving to the West Coast for college. UCLA was the only major college that accepted her. Besides, she always wanted to move away from home and start a new life. She would visit often enough. I can't believe this! I have to work on a paper and I can't even make it back to my apartment to work on it because of some stupid music festival clogging up the roads downtown, she thought. While traffic was at a stand-still, she pulled her laptop out from the back seat. For a second, she caught herself admiring the top. She told her parents that she was "forced" to have some type of computer for college but in truth, she wanted it just as badly.
Growing up, her family was one of the only ones in the state of New York that didn't have one computer. She loathed not being ahead in life but her parents were people to be considered "thrifty". They were the type that would never, ever bet on the stock market. They would never go gambling. So big purchases were few and far between. Her parents hadn't gone to college and that would be Lucy's future as well because they just didn't have the money. Lucy was frustrated with her family's income and seemed to not be able to get enough of money. She thought that was the end of her problems until her family became "religious nuts". They started telling Lucy to not worry about money so much. They told her that money is the root of all evil. If money is the root of all evil, then call me the devil, she had said. Of course, they were inconsolable after that remark. They started telling her all of these fables about how God came to earth and died for her sins. Lucy thought that they lost their minds. Her parents began to go to a local church and tried to get her to come. She refused on every occasion. All that just contributed to her wanting to get away. After high school graduation, she had saved up enough through odd jobs and working night shifts at grocery stores since 14 to earn her tuition. It had been hard work but she figured that at least 50%-75% of her wages went to that college fund. She decided to major in computer programming and maybe start her own web-based company some day or something.
She opened up her laptop and worked on her paper as the traffic began to let up finally.