Season 1, Episode 14: Tread Lightly

Sandy's POV

Sandy Comstock was watching Carpathia. He was wondering what the Romanian president would do next. Seeing him suddenly pull a weapon out in front of everyone in that room seemed daunting enough. Would he live to even be able to describe his experience to the other members of the Resistance?

Carpathia was smiling as he looked at the other people in the room. Sandy was mortified when he saw that all of them were smiling at him, like as if the Romanian president was an innocent angel. Then he realized at that moment he was the only believer in that room. There were reasons why Paul didn't want him to be at this meeting, and now Sandy could see why.

Carpathia then walked around the room and started shaking hands with the other people in that room. Sandy watched as Carpathia embraced the first man that he was interacting with.

"Callum Butler", Carpathia said. "It is an honor to see you again."

"It is an honor for me as well, Mr. Carpathia", Butler said.

Carpathia then shook hands with Joyce Dancer.

"Hello, young lady. What is your name?"

"Joyce Dancer. It is such a pleasure to be able to speak with you in person."

"Likewise."

Sandy wanted to shout at her and tell her that Carpathia was the Antichrist and shouldn't be trusted. He felt trapped and helpless.

Carpathia then shook hands with a woman Sandy assumed was from some magazine company that had been allowed in the building. She didn't seem to be an ambassador.

"What is your name?", he asked.

"Nora Grimsby", she said.

One by one Carpathia went around the room and started asking people their names.

"My name is Travis Steers", a fellow writer from Global Weekly said.

A man named Stefano Bianchi introduced himself. Bianchi was an ambassador from Italy. Nicodemus Wyzek, who was an ambassador from Poland, introduced himself.

Sandy wondered why Carpathia was doing this. Was this some psychological game that Carpathia was playing to show he had control over these people? What was his ambition behind all of this?

Sandy watched as Carpathia shook hands with Howard Hillside. Hillside introduced himself. Sandy wondered what Carpathia would do after all of the introductions were complete.

Bill's POV

Bill Parker was at home. He had spent at least fifteen minutes praying for Sandy. He couldn't imagine what he was going through right now.

Bill had then turned on the television.

"Hello everyone. It seems there is some interesting occurrences at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Earlier this morning two men have been standing here and have been shouting and reciting Scriptures. As you can see, many of the Jewish citizens in Israel are not pleased with these two men. They call themselves Uri and Itai."

Bill watched as Uri and Itai shouted at the top of their lungs, reciting scriptures and prophecy.

"The day of the lord draws near!", the man known as Uri shouted. "Turn to Jesus Christ before it is too late!"

"I'm not going to sit back and allow this", a Jewish man in the crowd shouted. "I'm stopping this!"

"Joram Ahabziah, stop!", a man shouted.

But Joram Ahabziah refused to listen. He ran towards the two men holding a knife and verbally threatening to attack them. Neither men even moved an inch. Fire came down from heaven and consumed Joram and he burned to death, his ashes being clearly visible as his entire body seemed to have melted.

Uri and Itai continued preaching. The Jews in the crowd that had gathered continued shouting at them, but no one else dared to attack them.

Bill then called Paul Karoski.

"Paul, do you know what this means?", he asked.

"Yes, I do", Paul said. "This fulfills the prophecy in the eleventh chapter of Revelation. The apostle John wrote that these two men would prophesy for 1,260 days. You can see that it will take place for more than three years. It is also written in that chapter that no rain will fall in Israel during their time there. Simultaneously, Uri and Itai can also turn the water into blood."

"How can anyone doubt God or Christianity after all of this?", Bill asked.

"It amazes me as well how people will still not believe", Paul said. "But everyone has their own issues to work out. All we can do is persuade people."

"This will be life-changing, no doubt about that", Bill said.

"For sure", Paul said. "I wholeheartedly agree with that statement."

Sandy's POV

Sandy watched as Carpathia greeted Hiram Calhoun. Carpathia then introduced himself to Pike Jennings. Carpathia smiled at Sandy but didn't say anything to him. Sandy had to wonder why Carpathia didn't verbally greet him. Was it because he knew he was a believer?

But that's impossible, Sandy thought. There is no way he can possibly know.

Carpathia then walked to the front of the room.

"As you can see, I have introduced myself to all of you and politely welcomed you here. I want to call all of you my followers. You will all see that you will serve me and represent me in my kingdom and regime."

Sandy thought about that last statement. Kingdom? Regime? What in the world was taking place? Sandy refused to bow down in front of anyone. He was never a follower. He wanted to be a representative in the United States, where freedom of speech and free will was emphasized. This didn't seem to follow the same continuity Carpathia was imagining or talking about.

The only individual that Sandy would worship or bow down in front of was God. He would never worship Carpathia.

Sandy watched as Carpathia pointed at Marius Balan with his left hand.

"Marius, please kneel in front of me."

"Kneel?", Balan asked, clearly feeling insulted. "Why should I kneel in front of you? You are not above me."

"You will do exactly what I say", Carpathia said. Suddenly the polite tone filled with compassion was clearly gone. Sandy didn't know what to think. He glanced at the other people in the room watching the scene. Not one of them seemed ready to even attempt to stop Carpathia and hinder his diabolical plan. They just stood there, as if watching a movie or a school play.

Balan hesitated, then kneeled in front of Carpathia.

Aurora Pichler walked towards Carpathia. "Nicolae, maybe this is going slightly too far. You should just…"

Carpathia then slapped Aurora across the face.

"You will not interrupt me", he said in a harsh tone.

"Sorry", Aurora said. She then walked away.

The Romanian president smiled as he continued speaking. "Marius, there was a time when I considered you as a very good friend of mine. I loved you like you were a brother. We worked together, we plotted together, we faced hardships and adversity together. You helped me during my school career. You helped me in the world of politics. I received all these accolades, merits, and praise because of your contributions."

Balan smiled, but he still seemed perplexed. Sandy was sure it was because Carpathia was still making him kneel.

"Marius, I knew deep down that we did not share the same goals. You were content with helping me during high school. Including disposing of my worthless chemistry teacher. He was an arrogant fool."

Sandy then took a deep breath as Carpathia pointed the gun at Balan's forehead.

"Marius, there is a lesson that needs to be learned and emphasized in life. You cannot trust everyone you see and interact with. Oh, and another one. All good things must come to an end."

Balan then whimpered.

"Nicolae, what…what does this mean?"

Carpathia then gave a dangerous smile. "I'm going to kill you now, Marius. You were a good ally and a dear comrade. But now, you will no longer be needed."

Balan then cried out, "Nicolae, please don't kill me! I'll do anything!"

"After I kill you", Carpathia said. "I will murder six other people in this room of my choosing. This will serve as a reminder that I will be in control of everything from this point forward. No one can stop me. No one can hinder me. I am just starting my butchery. Nothing will hold me back now."

Carpathia then pointed the gun at Balan.

Sandy screamed out, "Noooo!"

But no one seemed to have heard him. Carpathia pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Balan's forehead, causing immense quantities of blood to spill on the ground.

Hiram's POV

Hiram watched with horror as Marius Balan picked up the gun and shot and killed one of the women watching the scene.

At least that's what he thought he was seeing anyway. But why would his eyes deceive him?

Hiram noticed Pike Jennings backing against the wall in fear.

What a coward! Hiram thought.

Sandy's POV

Sandy was watching as Balan's body was on the ground, a pool of blood being created around it.

Carpathia then pointed the gun at Nora Grimsby and shot her in the head. Grimsby's body fell to the ground, and Sandy could have sworn he saw one of her brains on the floor. This was becoming disgusting and morbid.

Sandy saw Joyce cry out and a tear stream down her cheek.

If Carpathia noticed, he didn't show any emotion. The leader that once seemed filled with compassion and empathy was now showing bloodlust and destruction. Sandy could now see his callous nature.

Joyce's POV

Joyce couldn't believe that Balan had killed Nora Grimsby. At least that was what she had seen.

A tear streamed down her cheek.

Sandy's POV

Sandy Comstock was watching Carpathia as he continued his killing spree in that room.

Carpathia pointed the gun at Travis Steers. Before Sandy could yell at him to move out of the way, a bullet from the gun entered his forehead, killing him.

Sandy looked at Travis's body, filled with utter disbelief. Even though Sandy had never interacted with Travis that often outside of their work together, he didn't believe anyone should have to die in such a ruthless manner.

Carpathia wasn't even finished. He pointed the gun at Nicodemus Wyzek and shot and killed him.

Sandy noticed that the other people in the room seemed frozen in place. It was like they were completely indifferent to the events occurring right before their very eyes. They didn't seem to react to the bloodshed. They didn't seem to notice or care.

Sandy was wondering how any of this was even possible.

But then he figured it out.

Carpathia must be brainwashing these people, he thought.

Sandy watched as Carpathia pointed the gun at Stefano Bianchi. Carpathia shot and killed him within three seconds.

Carpathia then pointed the gun at Callum Butler, then fired the gun at his stomach three times. Butler was dead before his body hit the ground.

"I only need one more kill", Carpathia screamed.

He then pointed the gun at Howard Hillside. Before Sandy could do anything, Carpathia fired a bullet that hit Hillside in one of his eyes. Carpathia then shot a fatal bullet in Hillside's head.

Sandy was mortified and aghast by what he was seeing. Seven people had died in that room. And no one even seemed to know that except for Carpathia and Sandy.

Carpathia then walked around the room and asked people what they had seen.

"I can't believe what happened", Hiram Calhoun said. "Marius Balan grabbed your gun and killed those people before taking his own life."

"I saw the same thing", Joyce said.

"It was unbelievable", Pike Jennings said. "Balan killed those six people and then took his own life."

Carpathia then continued walking around the room and asking people what they had seen.

"What did you see, sir?", Carpathia asked Sandy.

Sandy didn't know what to say.

But then some thoughts ran through his brain. Then a mysterious voice ran through his head.

Say nothing! The voice commanded.

Was that the voice of God?

So, Sandy decided to keep quiet.

Carpathia then said, "I understand completely. You must be in shock after what Marius did. I won't understand it. I knew him for years. He was my friend. Why he committed this terrible act and murdered these innocent lives are events that I may never understand."

Sandy couldn't seem to control his emotions. As everyone around him seemed to be engaged in conversations, he ran straight to a nearby phone.

"Police!", Sandy said into the phone. "Seven people lost their lives here."

Sandy knew that if he told the police what really happened, they wouldn't have believed him. He glanced around the room to see where Joyce was but couldn't find her.

The meeting was disbanded thirty minutes later. Sandy ran out of the room and found a taxi to take him back to the hotel.

When Sandy reached his hotel room, he closed the door and thanked God that he was still alive.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to live, he thought.

He then decided to call Bill or Paul.

He dialed Paul's cell phone number.

"Paul", Sandy said, clearly gasping between breaths. "Carpathia is the Antichrist. He has to be. I saw him kill seven people during the meeting. He seemed to have brainwashed everyone in the room."

"I'm just thankful you're alive, Sandy", Paul said.

"Call the other members of the Resistance and we'll all meet at O'Hare International Airport", Sandy said. "I have to tell all of you everything."

Sandy knew he would have to tread lightly in the days to come.

Bill's POV

Bill and the other members of the Resistance were waiting at O'Hare International Airport for Sandy's plane to touch down. When Sandy ran through the gate, the other nine members of the Resistance embraced him. Paul prayed and thanked God for protecting Sandy during the meeting.

Sandy told them the story of what had happened.

"Wow", Rohit said. "That is odious."

"Agreed", Kade said.

"At least I'm not the only one to survive a shooting", Tony said. "We'll need to support each other during this peculiar time period."

The ten members of the Resistance moved through the terminal, their arms around each other. Bill Parker, Sandy Comstock, Paul Karoski, Kade Gordonhurst, Eddie Exton, Zoey Harper, Rohit Sharma, Sylvester Coddmyer, Tony Cataldo, and Larry Levine saw the dangers that had occurred in their world in one month, and they knew their mission.

The task of the Resistance was clear and their goal nothing less than to stand and fight the enemies of God during the seven most chaotic years the planet would ever see.

IN MEMORIAM

Joram Ahabziah

Marius Balan

Nora Grimsby

Travis Steers

Nicodemus Wyzek

Stefano Bianchi

Callum Butler

Howard Hillside

Author's Note: And that was all of Season 1! I'll start writing Season 2 as soon as possible.