Season 2, Episode 2: Count Your Nickels

Hiram's POV

For a few seconds Hiram Calhoun was in utter disbelief. He wasn't completely sure what he was seeing in front of him was real. He heard the gunshot and saw his older brother fall to the ground. Pike Jennings checked Rudy's pulse and confirmed he was dead.

Hiram couldn't believe it. His brother was dead? It just couldn't be real. He was in utter disbelief that this was happening.

He felt no emotions. He was completely silent. He didn't know how to react to what he had just witnessed. He wanted to scream or cry out. Yet, he didn't have enough energy to say anything.

Others in the crowd began screaming and yelling in panic.

Someone yelled, "Call the police!"

The police? Hiram thought. What good would that do? The police couldn't just resurrect people from the dead. However, whoever murdered President Calhoun was still out there.

Hiram pulled out his cell phone. He needed to speak to someone that could offer him assistance.

Hiram dialed the number of his best friend from his childhood, Neal Veith.

"Neal?", Hiram asked. "Are you there? Are you watching the television and seeing what is happening?"

"Yeah, Hiram. I'm so sorry about your brother. I'm so sorry. If you need anything, I'm there for you."

"Thank you."

After the phone call, Hiram ran to his brother's body.

At this time, paramedics and doctors had arrived. While Hiram had been too stunned to move, someone apparently had called the police.

"I called the cops", Pike Jennings said. "I hope you don't mind, Calhoun."

Hiram nodded. He wasn't sure why Jennings was being so nice all of a sudden. During Rudy's entire tenure, Jennings had acted so arrogant and nasty. So why was he acting so cordial all of a sudden? There had to be something else involved.

Or maybe he truly was genuinely concerned. Jennings may have treated Rudy and Hiram with disdain, but that didn't mean he wasn't a human being.

Of course, Hiram knew that Rudy's death meant that Jennings would become president of the United States.

This just gets worse, Hiram thought.

He was too distraught to think of anything else. News reporters and onlookers kept coming up to him and asking him for his opinion. Hiram really wished they would just leave him alone. Couldn't they respect his privacy? His brother died, after all.

"We'll have to take your brother's body to the morgue", a police officer said.

Hiram nodded. Just then several other politicians raced over. One of them was carrying a Bible in his hand.

Hiram recognized one of the politicians. A senator representing the state of Kentucky. His name was Declan Clark. Hiram didn't really know him all that well. Declan seemed to be slightly corrupt.

Declan said to Hiram, "I came over as soon as I could. I am sorry for your loss."

Declan then turned to Pike Jennings. "We also have to make sure you're sworn in as the new President."

Jennings nodded.

Declan then said, "Do you, Pike Jennings, carry out your tasks as president faithfully?"

Jennings then said, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States."

"So, let it be done", Clark said.

Hiram walked away, clearly too disgusted to see any more of this. News reporters kept shouting questions at him. Hiram wished they would just leave him alone.

"What are your thoughts about your brother's death?"

"Who do you think would have done this?"

Hiram tried to avoid them. He ran to find a taxi that would drive him back to his house in Chicago.

Axel's POV

Axel Cummings led the way into his house. Daphne and Jimmie followed him inside the house. When Axel turned around, both Daphne and Jimmie looked at the house, seemingly wondering if they should allow themselves to walk inside.

"Come on, don't worry. You can come inside. You are more than welcome."

Both Daphne and Jimmie seemed relieved. They walked inside the Cummings household with Axel.

"Do either of you want any drinks?", Axel asked.

Both Daphne and Jimmie shook their heads.

"Okay, then. Let's get down to business. We need to discuss the rules set up at the high school."

"I'm not sure what to do", Jimmie said. "I don't even believe in this stuff. I'm not even a Christian. Yet, I have to admit that there has to be some involvement from God."

"Think of all the people you knew personally that disappeared", Axel said. "What did they all have in common?"

"Well, I had friends from middle school that went to this church in Chicago", Daphne said. "When they tried talking to me, I thought they were crazy. I hadn't spoken to any of them since I left that middle school. I don't even recall seeing them at Prospect High School before the disappearances."

"If you could find their addresses and ask for their whereabouts, do you think they will have disappeared?", Axel asked.

"I don't even want to think about it", Daphne said. "My father was a believer in Christianity. But my mother…"

Her voice trembled and a tear dropped on her face.

"Are you okay, Daphne?", Axel asked.

Daphne then started sobbing. She was feeling lachrymose.

"My mother…she was killed in an accident caused by the disappearances. I called her cell phone and the police told me about the car accident that took her life. I've been grieving ever since."

"Daphne, I didn't know", Axel said. "I'm so sorry."

Daphne wiped her eyes.

"Now I can see why you need time to think about making a decision", Axel said. "I'm not even sure I'm ready."

"None of us knows for sure how much longer we have to live", Jimmie said. "It would be wise to make a choice at New Hope Village Church. Maybe someone could help us."

Axel then said, "I'm turning on the television. Maybe something interesting is happening."

Axel pointed a remote towards the television in his living room and turned it on. What he saw on the screen was not something he was prepared for.

The emergency services had apparently swarmed a meeting in Illinois. Many people in the crowd were sobbing.

Axel gasped as he heard from the news reporter, "It is true. The forty-eighth president of the United States, Rudy Calhoun, was assassinated today. This is the fifth time in United States history that a president has been assassinated. Vice president Pike Jennings was sworn in as the forty-ninth president of the United States."

Axel sat down on the couch, clearly in shock.

He changed the channel. This other channel also was describing the death of Rudy Calhoun.

"We still have no knowledge of who could have done this", the male news reporter said. "Police have interrogated several witnesses who were in the vicinity of what had occurred here. Rudy Calhoun's younger brother, Hiram Calhoun, had declined to comment."

"This certainly is life-changing", Daphne said.

"Indeed", Axel said.

Bill's POV

Bill Parker was stunned by the murder of President Calhoun. As if the chaos caused by the disappearances around the world weren't bad enough, now the entire country had to deal with this. There seemed to be no escape.

Paul Karoski had called another meeting of the Resistance. Bill drove himself and Ben to the church. There, they sat with the other members of the Resistance as Paul paced back and forth in the basement.

"This only shows that things are getting worse", Eddie Exton said.

"I agree", Larry Levine said. "I was pretty stunned by what I saw."

"Who do you think could have done this?", Zoey Harper asked.

"I suspect that Carpathia might have been involved", Paul said. "He may not have fired the bullet that killed Calhoun, but this could be part of his plot to take control of the world."

Bill didn't know what to say. If the president of the United States wasn't safe, then who was? If Nicolae Carpathia had conspired to take the life of Rudy Calhoun, then they would all be in danger.

"What should we do?", Bill asked.

"For a start, it wouldn't do any of us any good to accuse Carpathia publicly", Tony Cataldo said. "He has too many supporters on his side. They would never believe us. Not to mention they might even accuse us of slander and try to harm us."

"How many chirper followers does Carpathia have?", Kade asked.

"I'll check", Rohit said.

Rohit looked up Carpathia's chirper account on the computer as everyone else watched. Bill was not pleased to see that Carpathia had 21 million followers.

Jimmie's POV

As classes ended on Friday, Jimmie had noticed several factors that had seemed suspicious at Nicolae Carpathia High School.

The first thing that seemed suspicious was Todd Hollywood, an eleventh-grader at Nicolae High. Todd Hollywood had been one of the star players on the Prospect High School bowling team. Jimmie had never gotten along with him prior to the Rapture. Hollywood had bullied Jimmie on a couple of occasions. Hollywood now was the captain of the Nicolae High bowling team, since the previous captain had been raptured. Jimmie noticed that Hollywood seemed to show no remorse or sympathy for the previous captain's absence. Todd Hollywood seemed selfish, arrogant, and nasty. He had already been unlikeable before the Rapture, but now it seemed to be even more obvious to Jimmie. Hollywood had clearly been a rapid supporter of Carpathia.

The second thing that Jimmie thought was suspicious were a group of three friends that were in the same grade Jimmie was. Their names were Gage Snider, Presley Holt, and Darrell Livingston. Jimmie never really talked to those three boys before the Rapture. He thought the three of them were odd or unusual. But all three of them seemed happier during the first few days at Nicolae High. Every time Jimmie saw them together, it was like they were plotting some nefarious scheme. Whatever they could be up to, he was sure it was not good.

The third thing that Jimmie thought was strange was the drill instructor of the ROTC program at Nicolae High. His name was Paxton Danza. Mr. Danza had never been a pleasant man before the Rapture, but now it seemed like he was extremely incensed. Jimmie wasn't sure why.

During that weekend, Jimmie decided to convey his concerns to Ervie.

"I'm sure it's probably nothing", Ervie said. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"Fine, then", Jimmie said. "Let's head to New Hope Village Church when we get the chance."

Sean

Sean Suffolk was fifteen years old and a sophomore at Prospect High School.

Sean's father was a Christian, but Sean's mother was not. Nancy Suffolk was an atheist and wanted nothing to do with Christianity. Sean discovered his father's clothes on the morning of the Rapture. He had so many conflicting thoughts, but he was sure he figured out what had happened.

Sean hadn't mentioned his concerns to his mother, but he had a plan to deal with his situation. He was going to go to New Hope Village Church on Saturday and speak to someone he could trust about the situation he was faced with. He had to do something.

Brian

Brian Cardone was fourteen years old and a freshman at Prospect High School.

Brian's parents had both been taken in the Rapture. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. Brian was not a Christian, but he wanted to see if there was someone he could speak to about this.

Sylvester's POV

Sylvester Coddmyer was stunned by the events occurring all around the world. Losing his wife and son had been challenging enough. The murder of President Calhoun gave him another sense of fear. What if he was the next person to die? What would he do? Even though death would allow him to see Jenna and Sal again, he felt like he would be of more use to the Resistance if he lived. It seemed unlikely he would survive to the Glorious Appearing, but he could still hope.

Then again, the longer he lived, the more terrible things he would have to witness. Even if he lived, he would face so much emotional trauma because of all the flashbacks and prophetic events. He was nervous. But he would face his fears.

Axel's POV

Axel Cummings arrived at New Hope Village Church early that Saturday. He glanced at Daphne Waltonen, Jimmie Todd, and Ervie Todd.

"Oh yeah, this is my younger brother, Ervie", Jimmie said.

"Pleasure to meet you", Daphne said.

Axel knocked on the door. For a few minutes, nothing happened.

"Maybe no one is there", Ervie said.

Just then, the door opened. A man opened the door. Axel had never seen him before.

"Hello", the man said. "My name is Paul Karoski. How can I help all of you?"

"We came here for answers after the disappearances", Axel said. "We need to know what to do."

Paul led the way into the church basement. Axel, Jimmie, Ervie, and Daphne reluctantly followed him.

"So, what exactly do you want to know?", Paul asked.

"I just want to know how to get to heaven", Axel said. "How to become a believer."

Axel took a deep breath. "I need answers. After my parents disappeared, I had a feeling that what they believed in was the correct path. I…I just want clarity."

"I can pray with you, if you want", Paul said.

"Really? For sure?"

"Absolutely."

"What should I say?", Axel asked.

"You should say something like this. God, I'm sorry for my sins. I believe Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty I deserved. Please, Jesus, come into my life. I accept you as my Lord and Savior."

Axel finished the prayer. Then he breathed a sigh of belief.

"I feel completely different."

Paul then turned to Jimmie, Ervie, and Daphne.

"What about you three?"

Hiram's POV

Hiram was in his house, crying himself to sleep. He still had trouble accepting the truth.

His brother was dead, and he was never coming back.

Just then a knock came on the door.

Hiram forced himself to get up and walked towards the door.

When he opened the door, he was stunned by what he saw.

It was Nicolae Carpathia and Salvatore Corsetti.