Deceived by Jerry B. Jenkins Read Free Book Online Page A

that right?” the deputy commander sneered.
    Colin leaned over to the man and whispered something.
    The man laughed. “A Judah-ite rat, eh? If you ask me, they’re all like rats, spreading betrayal to the potentate like a disease.”
    Colin unlocked her handcuffs and leaned toward Vicki. “Find as many of them as you can and do it quickly, Judah-ite.”
    Vicki glared at Colin as the deputy commander shoved her inside. “Find them or it’s the blade for you.”
    Vicki walked inside the open area of the women’s division. A thin carpet, marked in places with colored tape, covered the floor. She guessed this was where prisoners lined up each morning.
    The room was lit with natural light from several skylights. Bars covered doors and windows along the walls. Vicki noticed several cameras overhead focusing on different parts of the building.
    Vicki guessed there were a few hundred women in the long room. Many were teenagers or in their early twenties who had somehow run afoul of the Global Community. Some had hardened faces, while others seemed lost, frightened, and confused. Though this building was larger, it reminded her of her stay in the Northside Detention Center.
    Women milled about the room in clusters, talking and laughing. Some lay on the floor while others exercised, power-walking the length of the room.
    A hush fell over the crowd when they saw Vicki. A woman motioned for her to come closer. “You got any smokes?”
    Vicki shook her head and walked through the crowd, looking for anyone with the mark of the believer. As she passed, she overheard a few women talking about the mark. “Those kids said if we let the GC put that chip in and give us the tattoo, we can’t get into heaven.”
    â€œYou don’t have to worry about getting into heaven,” another laughed. “You’d never make it anyway.”
    Several women laughed.
    â€œExcuse me,” Vicki said. “What girls were talking about not taking the mark?”
    A tall blonde woman stepped forward. “Did we invite you into this conversation?”
    â€œI’m just looking for—”
    â€œI don’t care who you’re looking for. Don’t interrupt!”
    Vicki glanced back and saw Colin and the deputy commander moving into another room. She knew she didn’t have much time, but in a group this large, it could take a while to find all of the believers.
    As Vicki moved forward, a woman took her arm and whispered, “Don’t be afraid of Donna. The girls you’re looking for are in the back corner.”
    Vicki found two groups of believers surrounded by a cluster of inmates. The girls saw the mark on her forehead and rushed to her. Vicki quickly explained she had met them at the college and was here to help. A few women without the mark inched closer.
    â€œI don’t have much time. They’re going to start processing people for the mark in a little while.”
    One girl shook her head. “They wheeled the guillotine through this morning. I thought we were goners.”
    â€œYou kids aren’t thinking of refusing the mark, are you?” a woman at the edge said.
    A dark-haired girl spoke up. “We’ve been trying to tell you, if you take Carpathia’s mark, you’ve sealed your fate for eternity.”
    The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Religious crazies,” she muttered.
    â€œI need to identify all the believers for the GC,” Vicki said. “How many are there?”
    â€œThree guys and ten girls as far as we know,” the darkhaired girl said.
    â€œWhat about Cheryl?” another girl said.
    â€œWho’s Cheryl?” Vicki said.
    â€œIn the corner with her back to us,” the dark-haired girl said. “We’ve held meetings to try and tell people the truth. Cheryl seems really interested, but she hasn’t made up her mind yet.”
    â€œShe’d better hurry,” Vicki