Season 1, Episode 10: Known

Bill's POV

Bill missed Allison more than he wanted to admit.

It had been three weeks. Almost one month since the disappearances. There wasn't a day that Bill thought about his wife. How he regretted making fun of her faith. Bill was sure that Ben missed her too.

Bill loved Allison, but he didn't doubt for even one second that Allison loved him more. He wished he had spent more time with her before the disappearances.

Bill had loved it when he had eaten hot dogs with Allison during fourth of July celebrations and celebrated anniversaries and birthdays. He knew now he had never really appreciated Allison the way he should have. He had taken her for granted. How he wished he could go back in time and do things differently. He wished he could be reunited with her in heaven.

Bill then sighed. He knew what was in the past was in the past. Then again, he had to think about Ben.

So far, Ben hadn't made the decision to follow Christ. Every time Bill had tried to talk to his son about following God, the boy had changed the subject or simply not responded.

Bill was worried about Ben. He wondered if Allison had felt this way about him before the Rapture. She had genuinely been worried about him. She had prayed for him for years. He had scoffed and laughed at her concern. Now he felt so ashamed and guilty.

Bill had made an abundance of money over the years when he was working as a pilot. Now he wished he could relinquish all of the money for him and Ben to be in heaven right now.

Bill knew the others that had met in that church basement were having the same emotions, regrets, and fears. This was probably the worst part of all of their lives. Would any of them be truly able to recover from what had happened? Would they ever be truly at peace again? He didn't know. He wished he did.

Bill had to wonder what was keeping Ben from getting right with God. He guessed it was the same thing that had hindered him. Bill had felt angry with God at times for making him go through all of this. Did he deserve to go through all of this? Did he deserve to have to live with the fact that people around him had faced death? Did he deserve to have to acknowledge that more death and destruction were on the way?

Bill knew that Paul knew more about this stuff than he did. Bill was sure that Paul had regretted the way he had handled his problems before the Rapture. Paul would be able to answer his questions. That didn't take away his anger, fear, guilt, and regret. This was a nightmare that didn't seem to end. And if Nicolae Carpathia was the Antichrist, Bill knew he and the other people from Flight 248 were in an immense amount of danger. Carpathia was already gaining popular support. Bill just had to hope Carpathia wouldn't attempt to seize control of the world.

Bill wondered if his skills as a pilot would be beneficial for him in the future. He knew things would only get worse from this point forward. Bill would do his best to help the other passengers from Flight 248. It would not be easy, but he would at least be there for support. He only wondered if the others would be willing to do the same.

Paul

Paul Karoski looked at a picture of him, his wife, and their sons and sobbed. What a blessing and gift he had. It had been taken from him. And it was all his fault.

If he had just gotten right with God and admitted his mistakes, he would have been with the rest of his family in heaven. He had studied about the Tribulation and seemed to be prepared for the events to come. He was still nervous and mournful. He still would be crying for many days to come. The tears never seemed to end.

Paul knew that he brought this upon himself. A hard lesson to learn. But he could already see good coming out of this terrible event and all this mourning. If he and the other nine people in that basement could form their own group to face the Tribulation, he knew it would be a rewarding experience. They would look out for each other. They would be their own family. Even though none of them were related by blood, they could love each other and respect each other. Even Rohit and Tony could show a vast amount of empathy for each other despite their fight on the plane.

Paul knew that God never promised his children a life free of trouble, misery, or pain. But God at the very least promised to watch over his creation and be with them every step of the way. Paul was holding on to that promise for himself, as well as the other nine people that were in that basement.

Paul knew that accusing Nicolae Carpathia of being the Antichrist was very serious. If anyone outside their church heard this, Paul knew that he would be in grave danger. He already knew that believers in Christ would be heavily persecuted during this time period. For now, he would not make any public accusations, but eventually he would have to make a stand.

Hiram's POV

"Hello, President Carpathia. My name is Hiram Calhoun."

Hiram watched with anticipation as Carpathia looked at him with a smile. He thought for a moment that Carpathia would tell him to get lost. After all, the Romanian president was eating his breakfast. But Carpathia seemed to look at him with compassion and empathy.

Carpathia shook Hiram's outstretched hand.

"Hiram, it is a pleasure to meet you personally", Carpathia said.

Hiram felt so giddy. It was like being in an amazing dream. This was a man deserving respect.

"By any chance, are you related to Rudy Calhoun, the president of the United States?"

"He's my older brother", Hiram said. He had hated being compared to his older brother. He had felt overshadowed since Rudy had became president of the United States. Senators weren't remembered as well as Presidents. Hiram wanted to stand out and be recognized for his own deeds.

"He's done a satisfying job in taking care of your country during this terrible time", Carpathia said. "You should be proud of him."

Why does everything have to be about Rudy? Hiram thought with annoyance. I'm a politician too, in case anyone hasn't noticed.

"But I'm sure that you have an exemplary career as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you a senator representing the state of Illinois?"

Hiram felt both amazed and shocked. "Yes. How did you know?"

Carpathia smiled at Hiram. "I've studied the current history and infrastructure of the United States. I remember the details vividly. You clearly are capable of amazing things. You deserved to be valued. You shouldn't disregard yourself."

Hiram was flattered that Carpathia had even noticed him, never mind praised him and complimented him. He decided to keep the conversation going.

"How do you know so much about the history of the United Nations and the United States? How are you so committed to the people of Romania? How do you do it?"

Carpathia didn't seem bothered or annoyed in the slightest bit by the questions. "Those are talents and gifts I was blessed with. I don't even feel worthy of these tasks. I want to stand up for what I believe is right. I want to serve my country and my people. I want to do everything in my power to allocate love, peace, and unity to people that are broken. I committed myself to do that, more than anything in this world."

Hiram nodded, clearly pleased with the answer. It seemed heartfelt.

"Well, I better get going. Nice speaking with you. I didn't mean to bother."

"You are not bothering me at all, Hiram", Carpathia said. "I love to help others in need."

That has to be the most unselfish leader I've ever seen, Hiram thought.

He decided to head towards the bathroom. As he was on the way to the bathroom, he bumped into someone. One of his least favorite people in the world. It was the vice president of the United States, Pike Jennings.

Ever since Rudy's tenure as President began, Hiram and Jennings seemed to loathe each other. It was clear that Jennings was jealous of Rudy even though he had been the latter's running mate during the election. Jennings seemed to be willing to act condescending and arrogant when he interacted with Hiram in public. The younger Calhoun brother could hardly tolerate the man. Jennings seemed to be willing to say snide remarks about Rudy when the President's back was turned. Rudy didn't seem to notice or even suspect Jennings's hostility, yet Hiram did. Hiram wondered at times why Rudy had even chosen him to be his running mate. He seemed to be a terrible choice for vice president.

Jennings sneered at Hiram. "What do you want, Calhoun?"

"Just going to use the bathroom, if you don't mind, Jennings", Hiram said. He had to hold himself back from attacking Jennings.

"I noticed you were speaking with Carpathia", Jennings said, smirking. "Do you really think that someone of great importance and value will even bother interacting with you? Is your ego really that big? How full of yourself are you?"

Hiram gritted his teeth. "I was just having a conversation with him, that's all. He seems to have a vast amount of intelligence."

Even more than you, Hiram thought silently.

"Whatever", Jennings said. The vice president then headed back to his seat.

Hiram then headed to the bathroom, trying not to think about Jennings and what he said. The vice president's snotty attitude was getting on his nerves.

When Hiram headed back to his seat, he noticed that the plane would be landing in New York in approximately one hour.

Zoey's POV

Zoey Harper was in her apartment. She was still in mourning over losing the love of her life. She thought about Wishy every day. How she wished she could tell him how sorry she was. She wished she could tell him that she should have known better. It had been a hard lesson, but it had been driven home. At least she knew the truth now. Wishy would have been ecstatic and overjoyed.

Zoey knew she would see her boyfriend one day in heaven, and that thought kept her going. She knew she had to prepare herself for this Tribulation period. If Carpathia was the Antichrist, she and the others from Flight 248 would be in danger. The general public would not tolerate them slandering or insulting Carpathia, even if those accusations were accurate.

Zoey only hoped that she would make Wishy proud.

Eddie's POV

Eddie Exton hoped that Sandy wouldn't be hurt on his trip to New York. Even though Eddie hadn't known Sandy for that long, he didn't want anything to happen to Sandy.

Eddie knew that all the passengers that had been on Flight 248 would be all be in varying degrees of danger. This was far from simple. This was only the beginning.

Eddie remembered how life used to be before the Rapture. The cycle of life that he didn't pay much attention to, because he now realized he never recognized its true value. The seasons would be in a never-ending pattern that he didn't think was such a huge deal. How he loved watching sporting events and concerts on live television. Now, it didn't seem anything like that would be happening at all in the future.

Life would be depressing, but it would be worth it in the end. If he was on God's side, he was also on the winning side.

Eddie wished he had believed before the Rapture. Then he wouldn't have had to find all those missing clothes on Flight 248. He wouldn't have had to find the dead bodies of Sally Graves and Gordon Bernall. He wouldn't have to worry about the prospect of dying or seeing some Antichrist take control of the world.

Eddie opened his Bible and started reading it. He might as well find out more information that could prove to be vital in the future.

Eddie only could wonder if he would live long enough to see any of these events taking place.

Josh's POV

Josh Grant was sitting in his house, filing taxes and writing checks to pay his bills. He had to manage his finances more carefully with the disappearances and all the chaos all around the world.

Josh knew that there was more to life than money. But money was the key to life in the United States. He didn't see anything wrong with making financial goals or trying to sustain the amount of money he had. Josh may not have been as wealthy as Bill Parker, but he would do his best to prove his relevance in this world. He couldn't lose sight of what was important.

Maybe someday Josh would listen about God, but only when the time was right. He wanted to focus on something else in the meantime. Something that didn't sound so depressing and terrifying.

Rohit's POV

Rohit Sharma was in his apartment. He was looking at information about Nicolae Carpathia. When he had seen the man on television talking to President Calhoun, Rohit thought the man seemed familiar. Yet, he couldn't remember.

Rohit was deep in thought, trying his best to make the connection. He saw a photo of Carpathia from the year when Rohit was only two years old. Carpathia was shaking hands with a former Indian Prime Minister.

All of a sudden, Rohit remembered. He had been an attendee at that meeting with his father and brother. From what Rohit recalled from what Nikhil had told him, Carpathia had made some sort of business agreement with the Indian prime minister. Some kind of monetary partnership between Romania and India. Coincidentally, that prime minister had died of an unspecified illness later that same year, at the age of 44.

Rohit then thought about that again. Maybe that wasn't a coincidence. It seemed possible that Carpathia might have somehow poisoned that unlucky prime minister. The fact that Carpathia seemed to impress almost everyone without any protests or suspicion just showed that Paul's theory about Carpathia being the Antichrist definitely had some credibility.

Rohit thought about calling Eddie, Kade, or Paul. Someone needed to know about this discovery.

Bill's POV

Bill had to fly a plane to Florida. He hugged Ben tightly and told him he would be back soon. Bill headed to the airport. It was the first time he would be flying a plane since the disappearances.

It felt strange. But he would complete this task in any case. He would not just give up on his job. He had to make as much money as possible to at least help himself and his son for a little bit longer.

Bill waited as the passengers got on the plane. Once everyone boarded the plane, he then made an announcement.

"Everyone, take your seats. The plane will take off in five minutes."

Kade's POV

Kade Gordonhurst was in his house. How he wished he could speak to his sister. He remembered the sound of her voice. He remembered all the times Kara had tried to talk to him about God. He wished he had listened closer. It was evident that she cared so much about him. If only he had heeded her warnings.

Kade now knew how costly his choices were. The disappearances certainly were conspicuous to the human eye. He couldn't see why it wouldn't. If millions of people disappearing weren't enough to convince the remaining population in the world about the end of the world, Kade didn't know what would. This would be a wound that would probably never completely heal.

Kade knew he would see his sister again soon, but he still was feeling doleful. He was sure the other passengers from Flight 248 had their own moments, actions, and regrets to feel remorse about. It seemed so cruel and unfair. But Kade knew that he would have to get through this pain. He had to use that pain and channel that energy into something productive.

Just then Kade's cell phone rang.

He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kade? It's me, Rohit."

"Rohit? What's going on? How is everything?"

"I was looking at some photographs of Nicolae Carpathia", Rohit said. "I then remembered when Carpathia met a former prime minister of India when I was just two years old. Did you know that prime minister died the same year that meeting took place?"

"I think I'm seeing a connection", Kade said. "We better tell Paul about this."

Joyce's POV

Joyce Dancer hadn't been on a plane since the disappearances occurred. She would certainly not be able to forget about the events that occurred on Flight 248. Joyce tried to act like everything was fine. And everything should have been fine. She would have a chance to personally meet and see Nicolae Carpathia.

Joyce boarded the plane after showing her passport and ticket. She took her seat, clearly trying to hold back excitement.

She decided to watch a film to take her mind off her anticipation. But her heart was fluttering with satisfaction.

Sylvester's POV

Sylvester was looking at pictures of Jenna and Sal. How happy they were. He was, in a way, glad they were not on Earth when it was spiraling towards destruction. But that didn't really comfort him that much.

Paul's POV

Paul was sleeping at 3 AM when all of a sudden, his cell phone rang.

It was Kade.

"Paul?", Kade asked. "Don't mean to bother, but Rohit and I discovered something about Carpathia. We need you to give your perspective about it."

This captured Paul's attention.

"Meet me at the church", Paul said.