Exodus: Book Two: Last Days Trilogy by Jacqueline Druga Read Free Book Online Page A

comically in front of his face as if he could ward it off. “No, Reg. I’m fine. Thanks.”
    “Huh?” Reggie turned to Marcus. “Oh shit, did you fall?”
    Marcus grunted and brushed himself off. “You were supposed to be watching.”
    “Oh, Marcus,” Reggie sighed. “I was. Look.”
    Marcus turned to see....
    Nothing.
    No buildings, no road. Thick brown dirt beneath a remarkably blue sky. The dirt had formed one small cliff like structure and it cradled the diner high off the ground. Almost as if the dirt was a wave.
    “What now?” Reggie asked.
    “We walk.”
    “Direction?”
    “East.”
    “Okay,” Reggie stated. “How do we determine east?”
    “I’m a scientist, Reg, please.”
    Momentarily impressed, Reggie frowned when she saw Marcus peer at his watch.
    “What are you doing?”
    “East.” He picked up their gear and turned to the right. “My watch has a compass.”
    “Oh my God, you are a nerd!”
    “Is that necessary?” Marcus handed her a bag. “Let’s try to head out of this destruction.”
    “Devastation of fire and brimstone.”
    “What?” Marcus chuckled.
    “I did have doubts about Devante’s biblical power of prophesy, but hell, look around.”
    Marcus slowed. “Reg, please, it was a meteor. Nothing more, nothing less. A meteor.”
    “Are you convincing yourself or me?”
    “Both,” Marcus said. “I guess I can’t let myself attribute such power to Devante. I can’t. I refuse.” He paused. “So, a meteor. It’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Not biblical, not supernatural.”
    As he said these words, a sudden vibration began, rumbling in the air, and then from the ground beneath. Marcus grabbed Reggie and tried to keep them steady, but it was useless. As they tumbled to the ground, they could hear an ear-piercing creak, like timbers cracking.
    Seconds later, speechless and disoriented, they glanced over to see the last remnants of the diner disappearing into the earth. The ground stopped shaking. Dead silence.
    Reggie stood and brushed herself off. “‘Nothing biblical,’ you were saying?”
    Marcus picked up their bags with trembling hands, and then grabbed Reggie’s arm. “Let’s just walk.”
     
     

Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
     
    “Yes, children, the truth can be frightening.” Devante’s deep voice reverberated over the loud speaker with a slight echo.
    This time, however, his words did not bring excited cheers, but sorrowful cries and whimpers. His voice was soothing, comforting.
    “It was a painful deliverance. And a necessary awakening. However, the thunder of the sky, the flames of vengeance did not awaken all. There are still many in the world who do not believe. Infidels are forming groups as we speak… to vanquish me. I know this. It has happened before. I am not afraid. But the signs will continue. You, my dear people, have witnessed on your continent what will become of your green earth, indeed of your world, if you do not change. Now, before the sun sets, the other side of the world shall witness it as well. A great sea separates many countries and cities. Today the floor of this great sea will buckle. Water will rise and form a great wall that will wash away the cities that surround it.” He paused as he swept the crowd with his eyes. “There is nothing that can be done. There is nothing that can stop this.” Devante lowered his head as if in sadness. “But... there is still time. You. You who are here. You who listen to me here and through your devices in your homes, you who believe in me, you are shined upon. The others, who do not, must be cast out in order for the destruction to cease.”
    A moaning uproar emanated from the crowd, mass questioning, and mass fright.
    Devante waited for them to quiet down. “You can say ‘No’. You can allow the unbelievers to destroy your earth. Look around. Look at the trees, the grass, the fields, they die. But, if you go to the home of the man who does not believe in me, see that his home