(10)-Left Behind.
15 Minutes Later...
During the next 15 minutes, Clare had spent her time reading the Tribulation map from start to finish. Before the disappearances, she thought it was all science fiction...but now it was like reading today's newspaper, as the first thing it talked about was millions of people, both dead and alive, disappearing around the world, including all children under the age of accountability, which she now knew was 13.
Now that she was done reading the map, she folded it back up and put it back in her purse. Wanting to get more news about the disappearances, Clare got up from her seat, went over to the TV and turned it on, showing the words L.A. NEWS Special Report on screen.
"This an L.A. News special report, with Perry Johnson and Diana Solton." Said a male voice.
The words L.A. NEWS Special Report were then replaced by the scene of an anchor-man and an anchor-woman sitting behind a desk.
PERRY JOHNSON.
"Good evening. Tonight at 10:15 pm centural time, the United States, as well as the entire world, experienced a phenomanon. The disappearance of literely millions of people from all over the world. The disappearances at this time are completely unexplained. What we can tell you is this: Various people from all walks of life have literely vanished before the eyes of many eye-witnesses, leaving clothing, shoes, glasses, and vertually everything not apart of their bodies-stand by." Perry said, placing a hand on the microphone/ear-piece on his right ear. "This just in, it seems that children of various ages to 12 years old are missing? And hospitals are reporting that all, i repeat, all infants are missing? All infants? What is going on? Diana?"
DIANA SOLTON.
"We are also recieving confirmed and unconfirmed reports at this time of disappearances throughout the world of many promoment and well known indeviduals. The list at this time includes evangulest Billy Grahm, pastor John Hagee, It's Supernatural Sid Roth, entertainer Amy Grant, coaching great tomlandery and now pro-tackle Reggie White. We repeat, many of these reports are unconfirmed, but as we recieve confirmation, we'll update. Back to you, Perry." Said Diana.
"We now go live to L.A. News reporter, Donna Tyler, a mid-technical difficulties. Are you there, Donna? Can you hear me, Donna?" Said Perry.
The scene then changed to a female news reporter standing on the vehicle wrecked streets of L.A.
LIVE
DONNA TYLER-L.A., CALIFORNIA
"Yes, Perry. This is one of just many hundreds of scenes just like this happening all over the city. All over the world, as we understand. Un-maned vehicles, just like this one, containing clo-personal items of clothing, wedding-rings, wallets, shoes, a watch and even a child seat. All positioned as if the occupince literely just disappeared. There is one common factor, however. We've noticed that many of the un-maned vehicles carry a symbol like this one."
"This can't-I just can't believe this, this is unbelieveable. This is the most bizar thing i've ever seen." Said Paul.
"-Found that this symbol has a Christian meaning of some-sorts. Could this symbol hold some answers to millions of disappearances happening all over the world, or is this just a strange coincidence? We have just learned that there will be a meeting tomorrow night at the L.A. community church to discuss these occurances, offer councaling to the families and friends of those who have vanished, and to present a video-tape from their pastor, who is as we understand is also listed among the missing." Said Donna.
"That looks like my wife's car." Said Perry.
"It's probably not." Said Diana.
"Donna, could you have them swing the camera to the back of the car, please? To the license plate." Said Perry.
Donna did as she was told and had the camera-man swing the camera to the back of the car on the license plate, and it's number was 297-L.A.C. The camera then zoomed into the fish symbol on the back of the car and then the scene cut to a rainbow-colored upward-striped image before going to static.
"Oh, my God. That's my wife's car. That's Carly's car." Said Perry cryingly before he laid his head face-down on his desk and began sobbing.
"Stand by." Came a male voice in the background. "Johnson...Johnson, read your script. John-"
"NO!" A tearful Perry screamed in anger as he looked up. "You people are right. UFOs and involvement of satilite lazers! You're right, these are these speculations, these educated guesses to prove your theories, WHEN ALL ALONG IT WAS A MASTER PLAN! AND WE WERE JUST TOO BLIND AND TOO STUPID TO LISTEN!" Perry screamed before looking into the camera. "Here me, people. The Lord Jesus came back tonight...and we've been left behind." He said before placing his head face-down on the desk.
The channel then cut to a church scene where some people were crying and panicking. Clare could tell that it had been hit by the disappearances, as clothes were on the pews where people were once sitting. She knew that it had been recorded earlier tonight, as that was when the disappearances had happened. She also knew that the event had been recorded when it happened. Boy, what a scary sight that must've been.
"IT'S OVER! WE'VE ALL BEEN LEFT BEHIND!" Screamed a black man on stage, wearing a black choir-robe.
"What do you mean left behind? Where is everybody? What happened?" A black man asked.
A black man in the black choir-robe walked off the stage. "They're gone. They're all gone."
"Where did they go? What's over?" The other black man asked.
"Life...life as we know is over." Said the man in the black choir-robe.
"No. It can't be." Said the other black man.
"What do you mean it can't be?" The black-robed man asked. "Don't you get it man?" He said. "It wasn't just talk. It FINALLY HAPPENED!" He said, placing his hands on the man's shoulders.
"Get yo hands off me!" Said the black man, pushing the black robed man away from him. "There's gotta be somethin' we can do! There's gotta be a way that we can go too!" He reached into his right pants pocket and got out his check-book. "How much?"
"How much what?" The black-robed man asked.
"How much is it gonna take to get me outta here? How much is it gonna take for me to go see my wife?" The man asked.
"A CHECK?!" The black-robed man screamed as he slapped the check-book out of the other man's hands. "A CHECK IS NOT GON GET YOU TO SEE NOBODY!"
The man reached into his left pants pocket and got out some money. "Look, look, look, here's a thousand dollars. That's all i have on me now, but i can open the bank and get more if you need it. Here, take it." He said before handing the black-robed man the wad of cash.
The black-robed man just looked at the guy. "Don't you get it man?" He asked. "You're money IS WORTHLESS NOW!" He said as he tossed the money away.
"What do you mean worthless! I'm Ronnie Kelson! It wasn't worthless when you were havin' all those anniverseries, those special sessions, and askin' for tithes!" Said the black man now known as Ronnie.
The black-robed man laughed. "You're Ronnie Kelson?"
"Yeah." Said Ronnie.
"Don't you get it, Ronnie? YOU CAN'T BUY YOUR WAY INTO HEAVEN! But it's easy to buy yo way into HeLL!" Said the black-robed man before he began sobbing and fell down to his kness and onto the steps.
"You can empty your entire bank-account...but it won't do you a bit of good now. There's no more hope...there's no tomorrow...there's no more chances. They've all...they've all been Raptured. I started preachin' back in Tennessee in 1955...when i was just 20-years old. I pastored three churches...i served right here...right here...in this church for 12 years. I went to semeonary school...and graduated at the top of my class with honors. I got my masters degree...in theoligy...and biblical studies..." Said a gray-haired black man wearing glasses and a black-robe. "just like you son. Just like you." He said to the other black-robed man crying on the steps. "But none of it...means anything now. I'm an old man...and i've been an old fool. All the preachin'...and teachin'...that i've done over the past 40 years...doesn't mean anything now. I pointed people to that cross...but was too ashamed to admit...that i needed to go there for myself. I let position...and title...cloud my judgment...stand in the way of my own salvation. And now i've gotta pay the price." He said. "Oh, Lord, i'm sorry." He said as he bent over. "Forgive me, Lord." He said as he fell to the floor and began crying.
"ALL THESE PEOPLE! ALL THESE PEOPLE!" Ronnie shouted before sitting on a pew, bowing his head.
"I shoulda listened! I shoulda listened!" Said the black-robed man on the stairs, crying.
The gray-haired man stood up on stage. "They use to say...it's more than just preachin'...singin'...paying tithes. It's not about how high you can jump...but how you live...when you come back down. I preached that for many years...but it was just all...empty words. 'CAUSE IF YOU LIVE! LIKE THE DEVIL! THEN HELL! IS WHERE YOU WANNA GO!"
"HeLL?!" Said Ronnie as he stood up from the pew. "No way, i aint goin' to HeLL!" He said as he walked up to the stage. "Pastor, you gotta do somethin'! I'm Ronnie Kelson! I've got too much money to go to HeLL! I've put more money in this church than half this congregation! I've paid my tithes! No, i aint goin'. I aint goin'."
The black-robed man stood up from the stairs.
"I cain't go! I cain't go!" Ronnie said. "I CAIN'T GO TO HEEEEEEEEEEEEELL!" He screamed, snatching the black-robed man up by the collar of his robe.
"GET OFF ME!" The black-robed man said as he pushed Ronnie off of him and onto the pew he was sitting on earlier.
"IT'S OVER! IT'S TOO LATE! IT'S TOO LATE! IT'S TOO LATE!"
"I caint go!" Said Ronnie as the black-robed man fell to the floor on his hands and knees.
"IT'S OVER! It's over." Said the black-robed man.
Clare turned off the TV, having seen enough, and decided to call it a day and leave, exiting the building and getting into her station wagon. It had been seven hours since the disappearances and there was still no update on Tommy. As Clare had suspected during her drive here, she had wasted her time coming to the police station. They weren't going to find Tommy...or any of the other millions of missing people. They were all gone off the face of the Earth. Vanished without a trace. Where they went, however, was anyone's guess. There were all kinds of theories out there. Some people were saying it was aliens, others were saying it was eveloution, nuclear radiation, spontanious combustion, the Rapture, ect.
As Clare dug into her purse, searching for her keys, she came across a piece of paper that was rolled up, with a gold ribbon tide around it. She took the rolled up paper our of her purse, unrolled the paper and looked at it for a few seconds. She then rolled it back up and placed it back in her purse, got her keys out, put the head key in the ignition, starting the vehicle, and drove off, heading back for her cabin in the forest to hang up the house-phone, turn the TV off, pack up her and Tommy's stuff, and head back to the city of Chicago.
A city that would in time forget Tommy.
Clare could just imagine how Tommy's Dad, Scott, would react when he found out that his son had disappeared. He would most likely play the grieving father until the press's attention was off of him. Very few people knew the kind of monster he was to Tommy after his Mom had passed away.
As Clare drove through the chaotic city of L.A., all she could think about was the rolled up paper she had found in her purse...and how it was a letter from Tommy and what his last words to her were: "Thank you...for being my friend."
While driving through the rioting/looting/panicking city of L.A., Clare tuned in to the radio news.
"In the aftermath of the disappearances-"
Clare changed the station, cutting the woman off.
"Millions were taken in the vanishings." Said a man on the radio
Clare changed the station again.
"From the United States, Canada, and as far as we know, all across the globe. All under the same circumstances. Reports of The Missing continue to tricle in." Said a woman on the radio.
Clare changed the station once more, and another man began to speak.
"And while the world morns their missing adult/teen loved ones, all parents are left with only one question: "Where are our children?"
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Mark 13:32-33
But of that day or hour knoweth no man. No, not the angels in Heaven, or the son, but the father only. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
Revelation 22:12
Look, i am coming soon! My reward is with me, and i will give to each person according to what they have done.
Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of Heaven. But only the one who does the will of my father who is in Heaven.
Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega..the first and the last...the beginning...and
THE END.
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Next Time...The Remaining.