Nicolae High by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Read Free Book Online

that ignited the gas.”
    Vicki didn’t know what to say. “I hate this,” she said finally. “It’s like we have to talk to everyone right away because you never know what’s going to happen to them.”
    “Had your brother tried to tell him?”
    “Yes.”
    “You never know, Vicki,” Deacon said. “Something may have gotten through to him, even after you talked to him.”
    Vicki couldn’t imagine, but she could hope. She thanked Deacon and said she hoped to run into him again sometime. She moved to the couch in the living room and sat crying softly. In a few minutes, Judd came looking for her.
    She told him what had happened. “You see why school is going to be such a waste of time?” she said.
    He shook his head. “I know it seems that way, but more kids might listen to us there than anywhere else.”
    “But will we be allowed to say anything? I wonder what everybody else makes of the disappearances and Carpathia and all that.”
    “I wonder, who’ll be there and who won’t,” Judd said. “How many teachers and coaches and office people were raptured, and how many students?”

    Late that afternoon, as Judd surfed the Internet, he realized how dramatically his life had changed in just a couple of weeks. He used to look for reasons to do anything but study or read. Now he had become a newshound, an information freak. He read his Bible, studied his notes from Bruce’s sermons and private messages. Now he was searching the Net for anything else he could find about what was going on.
    He heard a ping and saw the mail icon appear at the lower right side of his screen. Judd clicked on it and found a message from Bruce. “Judd, I will tell you and perhaps Vicki things I would not feel comfortable sharing with Lionel and Ryan. It isn’t that I don’t trust them, but these would be highly confidential matters, potentially dangerous if spread around. The younger boys might not know how to keep secrets or understand how important that is.
    “Two members of the Tribulation Force, Captain Steele and Buck Williams (whom you know), run in some very interesting circles and may be able to shed light on international matters that others wouldn’t be exposed to. I won’t be able to tell you everything, but when I do, I’ll count on your confidence—you know what that means: total secrecy. OK?”
    Judd felt special that Bruce would trust him like that. When he answered, he would assure Bruce he could be trusted. Meanwhile, Bruce told him the story of Buck Williams having met Israel’s Chaim Rosenzweig, the botanist who had created a formula that allowed desert sands to bloom like a greenhouse. The result had made Israel one of the richest nations in the world. Buck Williams had interviewed him and become his friend after Rosenzweig had been named Global Weekly’s Man of the Year. Rosenzweig had introduced Buck to Nicolae Carpathia.
    “I’ve been most encouraged by your attitude, your intelligence, and your curiosity, Judd,” Bruce wrote. “You might be interested in the text of an interview with Dr. Rosenzweig. You will find it at the following Web site.”
    Judd quickly clicked on it. Bruce was right. Judd found it fascinating.
    Wallace Theodore of ABC TV’s Nightline had interviewed Rosenzweig, and the text had been stored on the site. Judd found the following most intriguing and looked forward to when he might talk with Buck Williams personally about it.
    WT: Dr. Rosenzweig, what can you tell us about Nicolae Carpathia?
    CR: I found him most impressive. So bright, so engaging, so articulate, so humble—
    WT: Excuse, me, sir. Humble?
    CR: Probably as humble as any leader I have ever met. Never have I seen a man like this.
    When he was invited to speak at the United Nations not a month ago, he almost declined, he felt so unworthy. But you heard the speech. I would have nominated him for Prime Minister of Israel, if he were eligible!
    Mr. Theodore, he has ideas upon ideas! He speaks so many languages that