Judd Thompson Jr. sat with Lionel Washington, skipping stones at the small pond. The two hadn't had much time to talk in a while, since things had been quite hectic around the camp. It had been two weeks since Kendall's arrival in Avery and so far things had been going smoothly. She bonded well with all the girls, got along with the guys and was well looked upon by the adults.

"Adults", Judd thought as he tossed another stone in the water. Judd was now twenty years old and would turn twenty-one in a few months. In a normal world system he would be able to vote, would be recognized as an adult by those he knew and maybe would be college and would be in a relationship with some girl.

But as Judd thought about how his life would have been so different if he were living in any other period in time, he smiled. Never had he been so happy that he was actually living in this era, the Tribulation. He had an amazing group of friends, and unshakeable faith and a beautiful girl whom he loved so very much that he didn't even mind not having an education or the things he always thought he would have when he grew up. He had been through so much hardship over the years, but pretty soon it would all pay off.

"So," Lionel broke the silence. Hearing his friend speak woke Judd from his thoughts so he shoved them into the back of his mind. "What do you think of Kendall?" He asked causally.

"She's pretty cool." Judd responded, once again picking up a rock and skipping it into the shallow pond. "It seems like everyone likes her. I mean, she only been here for a little while, and yet she fits in so well."

"Yeah, she sure does." Lionel said. "How do you like being back?"

"Well, aren't you just full of questions? I honestly love being back. It's great to not have to be on the run all the time. And being surrounded by all our friends all the time is great." Judd answered.

"You just like seeing Vicki all the time." Lionel chuckled.

"Hey, that's not too bad either." Judd laughed.

Lionel simply just laughed and the two stood in silence, still skipping stones. Judd, who was squatting down, looked around and felt the warm of the heat wave on his body, but he only noticed the weather being slightly warmer and a bit more humid, but nothing to unbearable. The bright side of this heat wave was that Christians could go outside during the day and the Young Tribulation Force was definitely taking advantage of that.

Judd heard emerging footsteps and turned his head, seeing Vicki coming in his and Lionel's direction. "Hey Judd, hey Lionel." She said.

Judd stood up and gave her a side hug and was surprised by how tense she was and the fact that she merely gave a small smile and didn't look at him. She moved away from him a bit and said, "Um, Lionel, could I talk to Judd?"

"Sure, Vick', I'll see you guys later." He responded and slipped out as casually as he could.

"So, Vick, what's up?" Judd asked her.

"Judd, we need to talk." She said, matter-of-factly.

"About what? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"Um, well, there's nothing wrong. But um I-well, I got a phone call from Chloe yesterday. "

"Is it a good or bad phone call? Is everyone OK over there?" Judd questioned.

"Yeah, everyone's fine. It's not about that."

"Than what is it about?" Judd asked her. He had never seen her like this, but it was evident a lot was bothering her.

"Well, there are a lot of Christian teens over in Petra and she...Um...She wants me to go over there and minister to them. She said now would be the ideal time for travel because of the heat wave. She said I might even be able to do some Vicki B. stuff."

"Vick' that's great. Why are you sad about that?" He asked.

"I'm not sad about that, but I just don't know if that's where I should be right now." She said.

"You just got to pray about it Vick'. We've been stuff like this before."

"There is something else we need to talk about." She said, shifting her weight from her one leg to the other and putting her thumbs around the belt loops of her jeans.

"What?" Judd asked, still comprehending what she had just told him. Even though he had given her a calm answer, he was nervous about her actually leaving. He had just gotten back and now she might leave soon? That wasn't what they had planned. But God's plan and their plan are two totally different plans.

"Chad told me about the argument you guys had the other week." She said.

Judd was shocked. It had been almost four weeks since the fight and yet Chad had decided to refuel the flames. Judd didn't understand why he finally confronted Vicki about it, since it would make him look bad, and since it had been evident to almost everyone that Judd and Vicki had been growing closer since he had arrived at the camp.

"What did he say?" Judd finally asked.

"He told me everything. Judd you promised me that you wouldn't do anything like that!" She said emotionally.

"I told you I wouldn't hurt him, but I needed to talk to him." Judd said, trying to keep his cool.

"No Judd, you didn't need to do that. You could have calmly talked it out, but no. You had to go and get in a fight with him." She said, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Well, I'm sorry that it got out of hand, but I was trying to make my point to the guy. Vicki, he still has feelings for you! He still likes you!"

"Don't you think I know that?! I told him I wasn't interested today. And may I add, I said it to him calmly." She answered.

"Ok, so that's why you're you upset with me?" Judd asked, the frustration starting to show in his voice.

"I'm upset about the fact that you went behind my back, did something I asked you not to do, and then didn't tell me about it. That's what's bothering me Judd! "She said raising her voice.

"Vicki, you know I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry." He stated.

"Judd, I just don't know what to do." She said, turning away from him a bit.

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

"I think I just need to take a step back and think." She said.

"But Vick'-"

"Judd, I still care for you and I still have feelings for you, I just need some time to think. I'm sorry." She said, and with that she ran off, and he could tell there were tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry too, Vicki." He whispered.