OT: Keep readin', keep reviewin' please!!!!!! Chapter six coming at ya!
CHAPTER SIX
A confused Kyle Taylor sat in his parents' bedroom two days since the disappearances. He had cried himself to sleep the previous night without even knowing it. Sleeping on the floor was never pleasant for Kyle, but he didn't even notice.
Kyle woke up with a startle. He seemingly was living a nightmare, and he hoped it was all a dream. One look around the room confirmed his worst fears.
He now found himself more confused than anything. Just hours ago, he found out that his parents had disappeared and that they had been Christians for who knows how long (Kyle guessed a week or two by the prayer list) before then. What impact did this have? The journalist in Kyle wanted to know what was the reason behind the disappearances. Why did they happen? Kyle's heart just wallowed in self-pity.
Ever since he went away for college, he hadn't had the greatest relationship with his parents. The problem was he had no relationship with them. He hadn't even seen them in months. They just seemed to be in their own world, and he was in his.
So, why did the disappearances happen? Were my parents right? Did God call his church? No. No. No. No. I refuse to believe that there is a higher being. If there is really a loving God out there then why do bad things happen? Why would a loving God take the good people and leave the bad to face this kind of pain. For punishment? What is this, tough love? Then, if we don't fit under his jurisdiction of a "good person", we didn't get taken?
Kyle took the Bible and threw it into his mother's large vanity mirror. It shattered the mirror into a thousand or more pieces. I have to get out of here. Too many memories, he thought. Before he left, he took his mother's Cross and his father's bracelet. He didn't know why.
Tim Hamilton continued running until George's bullet hit that car's gas tank. The explosion nearly deafened Tim. It felt like he didn't even have ears. The ground under him seemed to rumble and he lost balance, falling hard on the pavement. Tim barely escaped the flames. Tim instantly turned to see the church torched. The car seemed to have been consumed in the flames. Kneeling on the pavement, Tim winced and held his legs. He moved to a sitting position and inspected the huge gash in his knee. It was bleeding badly.
"I...need..help. I...have....to....find....somebody." Tim said, limping in search of help. He remembered another church that was near Born Again Community Church. He headed in that direction. After many tiny steps, he finally made it to the door. He looked at the church sign that said 'New Life Community Church'. He opened the door to find overturned pews and a cross that had been pulled down. He looked around and found no one. He hobbled inside the church, blood dripping on the carpet. Afraid he was going to pass out at the sight, he hurried. He finally made it to the bathroom and found a first- aid kit. He pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and doused the wound quickly and violently, in search of relief from the pain. Of course, that only caused the pain to come in violent sensations. As the alcohol bubbled, he let out a series of screams. It took him forever to clean the cut and wrap a crude bandage around it.
When the pain finally subsided, he looked around the church to take his mind off what just happened. He leafed through different Sunday School rooms, finding coloring sheets and crayons in the Preschool Class, Teen Study Bibles in what was apparently, the Youth room, and found a video made for people who were left after the calling of Christ's church. He watched the movie for no other reason then he had nothing else to do. He was moved by the friendly reverend and how seriously he took the subject. The man carefully outlined many of the 109 prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. He talked of Jesus' predictions of his death, resurrection, and his second coming.
After watching the movie, he was at a crossroads. Were the disappearances the calling of Christ's church? He hobbled into the sanctuary and found a Bible. Tim had always just read the Bible to read the Bible. He never read it to look for answers or anything. He mostly just put on an act so everyone accepted him as a "good person."
He prayed aloud:
"Dear God, if you exist, if you are up there somewhere, give me the answers to what happened. Help me to know, God. If you do exist, reveal yourself to me and help me to believe. Amen."
Tim closed his eyes and opened the Bible. He then put his finger at a verse. When he opened his eyes, he realized he had opened to first Thessalonians 4: 13 and he read through 18. It read:
"And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.
I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all of the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.
Tim did it again. This time, he opened to first Thessalonians 5:2 and read the verse.
"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night."
Tim did it again. This time, he opened to second Peter 3:10 and read that verse.
"But the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment."
Tim did it again. He landed on first John 1:5 and read through 10.
"This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living with spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."
Tim did it once more and landed on John 3:16 and read through 17.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Tim was stunned that God had shown him all those scriptures by just variously opening the Bible. That was certainly a miracle. He went on and read more of the Bible in various places, mostly in the New Testament. Hours later, he decided to finally stop. Before he had read only what he felt he needed to, but now he had to pull himself away. He decided that with his new knowledge, there was no way that he was going to pass up Jesus' gift of Salvation. He got saved right then and there.
As Lucy Chambers made her way into her downtown Los Angeles, she became fearful. The last time she was here, her car drove off the road, and she got a concussion. Who knows what would happen now? A car might go off the road in front of her. A madman might shoot. Who knows? She didn't even know what these disappearances were. All she knew to do was to follow her instinct.
As she had walked, she had devised a plan to hop on the first plane she found to New York to see if her parents had disappeared. Lucy had reason to believe that they had after the conversation, but she just had to see it with her own eyes. She had no idea how she would get a plane to fly east. In the middle of the end of the world, who wanted to travel? Many pilots probably disappeared.
The question lingered in Lucy's mind: What caused these people to just disappear out of their clothes? She began to think of her parents' beliefs. She became confused. If that was the truth, then why would a God, who is supposed to be so loving take these people's loved ones away from them and let them go through this?
As she neared her apartment, she noticed a man yelling something on the side of the street. Some people stopped and talked for a while but left.
When she got closer, she made out what he was saying, "Pilot! Pilot! Anywhere in the U.S.! Cheap prices! Pilot!" When she heard this, she ran up to him.
"I need a pilot." Lucy said, panting.
"Where?" The pilot said.
"New York, ASAP."
"How much?"
"Cost isn't an object."
"Done. Come with me."
At any other time, she would never trust a complete stranger, but she just had to get to New York as soon as she could. She had to know if her parents disappeared or not. She just had to know.
After a while of walking, Lucy began to get tired. After walking miles yesterday and today beyond her capacity, walking was hard. He finally led her to a very, small plane. It was definitely mean to be private. It was perfect.
"I'd like the pay up front." The pilot said . "Okay, here." Lucy said, handing him her pocketbook, "Take as much as you want."
The pilot took some money but left more than Lucy thought he would.
"By the way, my name is Tom Patterson." The pilot said.
"My name is Lucy Chambers." Lucy said.
They both boarded the plane. Lucy got into her seat while Tom went through the standard takeoff procedure. Before she knew it, the rotor blades began to spin and the plane took off.
CHAPTER SIX
A confused Kyle Taylor sat in his parents' bedroom two days since the disappearances. He had cried himself to sleep the previous night without even knowing it. Sleeping on the floor was never pleasant for Kyle, but he didn't even notice.
Kyle woke up with a startle. He seemingly was living a nightmare, and he hoped it was all a dream. One look around the room confirmed his worst fears.
He now found himself more confused than anything. Just hours ago, he found out that his parents had disappeared and that they had been Christians for who knows how long (Kyle guessed a week or two by the prayer list) before then. What impact did this have? The journalist in Kyle wanted to know what was the reason behind the disappearances. Why did they happen? Kyle's heart just wallowed in self-pity.
Ever since he went away for college, he hadn't had the greatest relationship with his parents. The problem was he had no relationship with them. He hadn't even seen them in months. They just seemed to be in their own world, and he was in his.
So, why did the disappearances happen? Were my parents right? Did God call his church? No. No. No. No. I refuse to believe that there is a higher being. If there is really a loving God out there then why do bad things happen? Why would a loving God take the good people and leave the bad to face this kind of pain. For punishment? What is this, tough love? Then, if we don't fit under his jurisdiction of a "good person", we didn't get taken?
Kyle took the Bible and threw it into his mother's large vanity mirror. It shattered the mirror into a thousand or more pieces. I have to get out of here. Too many memories, he thought. Before he left, he took his mother's Cross and his father's bracelet. He didn't know why.
Tim Hamilton continued running until George's bullet hit that car's gas tank. The explosion nearly deafened Tim. It felt like he didn't even have ears. The ground under him seemed to rumble and he lost balance, falling hard on the pavement. Tim barely escaped the flames. Tim instantly turned to see the church torched. The car seemed to have been consumed in the flames. Kneeling on the pavement, Tim winced and held his legs. He moved to a sitting position and inspected the huge gash in his knee. It was bleeding badly.
"I...need..help. I...have....to....find....somebody." Tim said, limping in search of help. He remembered another church that was near Born Again Community Church. He headed in that direction. After many tiny steps, he finally made it to the door. He looked at the church sign that said 'New Life Community Church'. He opened the door to find overturned pews and a cross that had been pulled down. He looked around and found no one. He hobbled inside the church, blood dripping on the carpet. Afraid he was going to pass out at the sight, he hurried. He finally made it to the bathroom and found a first- aid kit. He pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and doused the wound quickly and violently, in search of relief from the pain. Of course, that only caused the pain to come in violent sensations. As the alcohol bubbled, he let out a series of screams. It took him forever to clean the cut and wrap a crude bandage around it.
When the pain finally subsided, he looked around the church to take his mind off what just happened. He leafed through different Sunday School rooms, finding coloring sheets and crayons in the Preschool Class, Teen Study Bibles in what was apparently, the Youth room, and found a video made for people who were left after the calling of Christ's church. He watched the movie for no other reason then he had nothing else to do. He was moved by the friendly reverend and how seriously he took the subject. The man carefully outlined many of the 109 prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. He talked of Jesus' predictions of his death, resurrection, and his second coming.
After watching the movie, he was at a crossroads. Were the disappearances the calling of Christ's church? He hobbled into the sanctuary and found a Bible. Tim had always just read the Bible to read the Bible. He never read it to look for answers or anything. He mostly just put on an act so everyone accepted him as a "good person."
He prayed aloud:
"Dear God, if you exist, if you are up there somewhere, give me the answers to what happened. Help me to know, God. If you do exist, reveal yourself to me and help me to believe. Amen."
Tim closed his eyes and opened the Bible. He then put his finger at a verse. When he opened his eyes, he realized he had opened to first Thessalonians 4: 13 and he read through 18. It read:
"And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.
I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all of the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.
Tim did it again. This time, he opened to first Thessalonians 5:2 and read the verse.
"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night."
Tim did it again. This time, he opened to second Peter 3:10 and read that verse.
"But the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment."
Tim did it again. He landed on first John 1:5 and read through 10.
"This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living with spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."
Tim did it once more and landed on John 3:16 and read through 17.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Tim was stunned that God had shown him all those scriptures by just variously opening the Bible. That was certainly a miracle. He went on and read more of the Bible in various places, mostly in the New Testament. Hours later, he decided to finally stop. Before he had read only what he felt he needed to, but now he had to pull himself away. He decided that with his new knowledge, there was no way that he was going to pass up Jesus' gift of Salvation. He got saved right then and there.
As Lucy Chambers made her way into her downtown Los Angeles, she became fearful. The last time she was here, her car drove off the road, and she got a concussion. Who knows what would happen now? A car might go off the road in front of her. A madman might shoot. Who knows? She didn't even know what these disappearances were. All she knew to do was to follow her instinct.
As she had walked, she had devised a plan to hop on the first plane she found to New York to see if her parents had disappeared. Lucy had reason to believe that they had after the conversation, but she just had to see it with her own eyes. She had no idea how she would get a plane to fly east. In the middle of the end of the world, who wanted to travel? Many pilots probably disappeared.
The question lingered in Lucy's mind: What caused these people to just disappear out of their clothes? She began to think of her parents' beliefs. She became confused. If that was the truth, then why would a God, who is supposed to be so loving take these people's loved ones away from them and let them go through this?
As she neared her apartment, she noticed a man yelling something on the side of the street. Some people stopped and talked for a while but left.
When she got closer, she made out what he was saying, "Pilot! Pilot! Anywhere in the U.S.! Cheap prices! Pilot!" When she heard this, she ran up to him.
"I need a pilot." Lucy said, panting.
"Where?" The pilot said.
"New York, ASAP."
"How much?"
"Cost isn't an object."
"Done. Come with me."
At any other time, she would never trust a complete stranger, but she just had to get to New York as soon as she could. She had to know if her parents disappeared or not. She just had to know.
After a while of walking, Lucy began to get tired. After walking miles yesterday and today beyond her capacity, walking was hard. He finally led her to a very, small plane. It was definitely mean to be private. It was perfect.
"I'd like the pay up front." The pilot said . "Okay, here." Lucy said, handing him her pocketbook, "Take as much as you want."
The pilot took some money but left more than Lucy thought he would.
"By the way, my name is Tom Patterson." The pilot said.
"My name is Lucy Chambers." Lucy said.
They both boarded the plane. Lucy got into her seat while Tom went through the standard takeoff procedure. Before she knew it, the rotor blades began to spin and the plane took off.