Season 1, Episode 6: Not the Answer

Bill's POV

Bill Parker thought what he was seeing was unexpected and surreal.

He had hoped to be able to speak to Sally Graves and inform her that there was still hope, that she could have comfort in the hope of heaven and Jesus despite the disaster that had just impacted the world. Bill had wanted to talk to hear and eradicate her fears.

Well, that hope was gone now. Rather than what he had hoped for, Bill instead saw the lifeless body of the flight attendant hanging from the ceiling. Bill knew that there would be much more death and dissonance to come.

Bill thought he was going to be sick.

"She committed suicide", Eddie Exton said, even though that was seemingly self-explanatory.

"What time will the police get here?", Bill asked.

"Should be around thirty minutes, maybe forty minutes. I would have expected them to arrive sooner, but with all the disappearances and accidents…you can fill in the blanks."

Eddie then pursed his lips. "I hate to make this worse, but if what Paul said is true, then we know Sally is not in heaven."

"I know", Bill said. He then shuddered. "I wanted her to believe. After the Rapture had occurred, she seemed really scared and nervous. She looked traumatized."

Rohit's POV

Rohit Sharma had mixed feelings. He was so glad he had finally prayed to accept Jesus. He was also afraid of how his father and brother would react when they found out.

Just then Rohit's phone rang. He checked the caller ID. It was his father!

Rohit picked up the phone and answered.

"Rohit!", Nikhil Sharma exclaimed. "Are you all right? People from all over the world disappeared."

"I've clearly noticed", Rohit replied sarcastically. "I'm not blind, you know."

Nikhil seemed to be feeling frustrated and irritated.

"Look, just tell me what happened to you when this disaster happened. I'm not in the mood for sarcasm."

"I was on a plane when it happened", Rohit said. "A number of the passengers on that plane disappeared."

Rohit took a deep breath.

He then said, "How is Rahul?"

"He's with me right now", Nikhil said. "Let me just bring him to the phone."

Nikhil had apparently covered the mouthpiece and yelled, "Rahul! It's your brother!"

Rahul then got on the phone.

"Rohit!", Rahul exclaimed. "I was so worried about you! People have disappeared. I can't seem to understand it."

"What do you think happened?", Rohit asked.

"I can't say with absolute certainty. There's a theory going around that God may have been responsible. I personally don't know what to believe."

"Can you put Father back on the line?", Rohit asked.

"Sure."

The phone was apparently given back to Nikhil.

"Well, Rohit, we can at least thank Allah that you managed to survive this debacle."

Oh Dad, you have no idea, Rohit thought.

"Dad?", Rohit asked. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Sure, son. What is it?"

Rohit took a deep breath, knowing that after this there was no turning back.

"Dad, I realized that the Christian God was behind the disappearances. I believed that Jesus is the Son of God. I prayed to him and asked his forgiveness. I became a Christian. I want you and Rahul to do the same."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Dad?", Rohit asked with uncertainty. "If you need to know how to become a Christian, I can probably…"

Click.

At first, Rohit wasn't sure what had happened. But then it hit him. His dad and brother had disowned him.

Rohit suspected that it was likely this would happen. But it still hurt.

Rohit sat down and sobbed. His troubles did not seem to be able to end.

Bill's POV

The police had arrived forty minutes after Bill Parker and Eddie Exton had notified them.

The police sergeant that had arrived, Ernie Wainwright, showed a grim expression when he ordered that Sally's body be transferred to the morgue.

"I can have an autopsy report done on her, although it is obvious to the human eye that she committed suicide. This current disaster certainly seems to have strongly affected the remaining citizens on Earth."

Bill wondered if Wainwright was willing to listen about God if he was informed about the truth.

"Mr. Wainwright, what do you think is the cause of all of this?", Bill asked.

"Honestly, it seems confusing and unclear", Wainwright responded. "I don't know what to say. Many people are saying it is Martians or aliens, or maybe another government somehow kidnapped these people out of thin air, or maybe some rocket scientist transported all the people that vanished into a black hole."

Bill then asked, "Can I tell you what I think?"

"Go ahead", Wainwright said.

Bill responded, "My wife, Allison, was a Christian. She was dedicated to her faith. She warned me a few times that Jesus was going to return for his followers some day in the future. I wouldn't listen to her. I was the pilot of a plane where many of the passengers disappeared. My son found Allison's clothes."

Wainwright sighed and looked at the ground. Bill glanced at Eddie, not sure what this meant.

"Look, sir… what's your name again?"

"Bill."

"Well, Bill, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but this stuff just isn't for me. I tried to stay away from anything related to Christianity. And if the Christian God is so loving, why is he causing all this pain and suffering? For what purpose?"

"You should come over to New Hope Village Church. The pastor that was left behind, Paul, he can really help you if you want it."

"Thank you for the offer", Wainwright said. "But my perspective still stands. Besides, I don't have time. I have to work around the clock, almost all day. Many people have vanished, and others were killed in subsequent accidents. Or, like in this case, committed suicide."

Wainwright and the officers left. Sally's body was transported to the morgue.

"I wonder how many more people are going to say the same thing", Eddie said.

Bill didn't even want to answer that question.

Perry's POV

Perry Warden was at his home, drinking several beers. He wasn't worried about the worldwide disappearances. He was angry. He had plans to carry out in England. He did not spend a year in the United States military, only to have his plans postponed by some so-called catastrophe that was probably a hoax created by the moronic Christians. It seemed laughable that the Christian rapture had taken place and that all the Christians disappeared right out of their clothes. It was ludicrous.

Perry wanted nothing to do with religion. It was the last thing he even wanted to think about. Perry had wanted to gain more work and experience. Christianity was not going to help him in any way that would benefit him.

Perry looked at the ground in disgust. This seriously couldn't be happening.

Josh's POV

Josh Grant was at home, stunned by what he was seeing on the news. Even though he was not religious and had no interest in converting to Christianity, he had to admit that the disappearances that just happened were interesting. That didn't mean he was going to change his lifestyle completely. He just wanted to think.

It felt so strange. Last week he wouldn't have cared about any of this. He wanted to try to avoid religion as much as possible. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder if he was wrong. He still hated Christianity, but he had to know the correlation that Jesus had with all the missing people from all around the world. He wanted to find out if perhaps, maybe the explanation behind the disappearances wasn't so silly as Perry and Tony thought it was. The missing passengers from Flight 248 weren't the only ones who had been taken.

Josh felt frightened. He suddenly wondered if God would show him any mercy. He had been a secular atheist for his entire life. During his 24 years, he had never felt inclined to think about the Christian God. Josh thought the Christians were all exclusive, hateful, and bigoted. He had tried to stay away from anything connected to Christianity. But with everything he was seeing in front of him, he was feeling dubious and uncertain.

Josh put his head in his hands. All he wanted to do was see a soccer game. He didn't want to have to handle any of this or think about this terrible debacle. It seemed too traumatic.

Zoey's POV

Zoey Harper was in her apartment, trying to think of the events that had happened the last few days. Her boyfriend, Wishy Walters, had disappeared along with millions of other people. Zoey had wanted nothing to do with Wishy's beliefs until the disappearances took place, which both Wishy and Paul had referred to as the Rapture. Zoey had prayed to become a believer when she had came to New Hope Village Church. It didn't seem to make sense to wait any longer. She had to take action.

Zoey then pulled out one of the Bibles that Wishy had given her. Zoey had kept it but never opened it, not being interested at the time. She decided to start by reading the first chapter of Genesis.

String's POV

String Becker was watching the news, still in disbelief after what had happened on Flight 248. He was in complete shock. That didn't mean he was going to all of a sudden have religious inclinations or commitments. He still needed to think. He didn't want to jump and make a huge decision when he had work and other obligations.

String was never religious. He had co-workers that believed in God. String would at least give them credit for not trying to shove their beliefs down his throat. At least they didn't try to proselytize to him and try to convert him. But String was sure that they had disappeared by now.

String still didn't want to pray to become a Christian. He wanted to think about it before jumping to any major conclusions. He still wanted more time.

Kade's POV

Kade Gordonhurst was still upset that his sister had vanished. He had come to New Hope Village Church for answers. But he was also still in mourning.

Kade had exchanged cell phone numbers with Sandy Comstock and Sylvester Coddmyer. He called both of them and asked if they wanted to come with him to New Hope Village Church. They both said yes.

Kade drove both of them to the church. When they were on the way there, he said, "I don't want to wait any longer. I have to do this."

Kade, Sylvester, and Sandy all arrived at the church. When they knocked on the door, Paul Karoski arrived at the door.

"Paul, we came here to pray to God", Kade said. "Can you show us how to do it?"

"Sure", Paul said. He led the three of them into the basement.

Kade went into the separate room first. He knelt on the floor and started praying.

"God, Kara tried to warn me about this. I wished I had listened. I'm begging you, please forgive me…"

Kade choked up as he begged God for forgiveness and proclaimed that he knew Jesus rose from the dead. Kade asked God to show him mercy and begged to be saved.

After Kade poured his heart out, he said, "Amen."

He took a deep breath. "I feel so much better."

Sandy then walked into the separate room next.

Sandy prayed to Jesus and asked for forgiveness. He asked to be saved.

Then, Sylvester walked into the room and prayed.

"So, how do all of you feel?", Paul asked.

"I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my chest", Sandy said.

"Yeah, me too", Sylvester said. "I can't wait to see Jenna and Sal again, though I know it will take seven years."

"You know, if you guys stick around, I'll start talking and teaching about this seven-year period, also known as the Tribulation", Paul said.

"That will be great", Kade said. "Now we just have to convince Larry and Tony."

Eddie's POV

Eddie Exton was also shocked by the fact that Sally Graves had committed suicide. Bill drove Eddie to his home. When Eddie reached his bedroom, he started pacing and trying to think.

Eddie decided to call Gordon Bernall, the passenger from Flight 248 who had seemed nervous. Eddie looked up the latter's name in the phone book. He lived only six blocks away.

So, Eddie jogged towards Gordon's home. He hoped he could speak to the man and somehow talk to him about God. He just wanted to take away the man's fears.

Eddie knocked on Gordon's front door. There was no answer. Eddie noticed that the front door was slightly unlocked. Eddie pushed the door open.

"Gordon?", Eddie called out. "I don't mean to trespass or bother you, but this is an emergency."

There was no answer.

Eddie decided to walk up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. He opened one of the doors on the right. When he did, he was in sudden disbelief.

Eddie opened it and gasped when he saw Gordon Bernall lying on the floor, with a bullet wound in his forehead. A gun was lying on the floor right next to Gordon's dead body.

Eddie thought he was going to be sick. Two dead bodies in one day? This was unbelievable.

Not again, Eddie thought.

IN MEMORIAM

Gordon Bernall

Author's Note: Also, if anyone is considering suicide, please don't follow through with it. Suicide is not the answer. There are people that love you and care about you. Suicide will not take away your pain. Every single one of us can get through life. We can overcome.