Arrived by Jerry B. Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page B

maybe set a few people free.”
    The drive took longer than any of them expected. After three hours of navigating the streets at a slow speed, Gunther stopped outside a restaurant. “Nicolae himself is said to have eaten here with a few of his advisors. Come on.”
    Judd stepped out of the car and felt his flesh crawl. He had been to haunted houses as a kid and had heard the screams of frightened trick-or-treaters around Halloween, but he had never heard anything this eerie. People in torment had collapsed on the sidewalk. Some called from inside houses or businesses, pleading for help.
    â€œOh, Nicolae, you have all power,” an older woman cried from across the street. “You bring light and peace and hope. Please, Nicolae, save us!”
    â€œShut up, woman!” a young man said. He was sitting with his back against the wall of a building next to the restaurant. “Neither Nicolae nor Fortunato can save you from this.”
    â€œBlasphemer!” an older man yelled. “You let Nicolae or any of his Peacekeepers hear you say that and you’re a dead man.”
    The young man scratched at a bloody scab on his neck. “Death would be welcomed right now.”
    â€œI’m so hungry!” the old woman shouted. “Can someone bring me something?”
    â€œCome on,” Gunther said. “Don’t pay attention to them.”
    â€œWho is that?” the young man said. “How can you drive a car when you can’t even see?”
    Gunther and the others went inside the restaurant, stepping over two bodies of people who had killed themselves. Judd stayed behind and inspected the young man’s forehead. No mark. But when Judd leaned down and caught a glimpse of the man’s right hand, he saw the clear mark of Carpathia.
    The young man took a swipe at the air, missing Judd’s head by inches. “Who are you? What do you want?” He had pulled his shirt up and was rubbing up against the coarse brick, trying to get some relief. His back was bleeding.
    â€œI’m a friend,” Judd said softly. “You don’t have to be afraid.”
    â€œDo you have a gun?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œCan you get one?”
    â€œWhat for?”
    The young man laughed wildly. “How long has it been since this darkness came? A week? Two?”
    â€œIt’s only been a few hours,” Judd said.
    The man put a finger in his mouth and bit down hard. Blood poured from the wound and gushed down his lips. “I can’t see to take a step, and I don’t have the energy if I could. I just want to die. I know this is the end.”
    Judd stood and took a step toward the restaurant door.
    â€œPlease, I beg you. Hit me with something, knock me out. I can’t stand this itching, and my head feels like it’s about to burst!”
    â€œI can’t help you,” Judd said. “I wish you’d have responded to God before it was too—”
    â€œGod?” the man screamed. “Jesus? I hate them! I hate everyone who talks about God!”
    Judd walked away as the man cursed God, chewed his tongue, and smacked his head against the brick wall. Judd stepped over bodies and went inside the restaurant. Some people had been inside when the plague of darkness hit, and they were still moaning and wailing on the floor, under tables, and lying on booths.
    Judd found Gunther and the others in the kitchen, cooking meat on the grill. The cook lay in the back, not moving. Some people had crawled inside the back door searching for food. One man near the grill had burned both his hands, not seeing the fire.
    While Gunther cooked the meat, Judd and Westin gathered bread and drinks and headed for the car. Judd looked for the young man by the wall, but he had moved away.
    When they were all inside the car, Judd tore off a piece of French bread and grabbed one of the still-sizzling pieces of meat from Gunther. The smell of the food made Judd’s mouth