Showdown by Ted Dekker Read Free Book Online Page B

community under specific guidelines. A lone child would not do because the children would be required to enter society one day, a prospect that could render them useless unless they had grown up in a functioning, if different, society of their own.
    Perhaps the most important element in the study were the teachers. Twelve monks and priests had each agreed to a four-year commitment, but most remained after they were free to go home. The money paid to their families and various charities only partially justified their commitments. Their desire to see the effects of a noble savage’s faith was motivation enough for most of them.
    For nearly twelve years they carefully taught each child in the ways of truth, virtue, and faith, and they meticulously recorded every move of every child. Other than morning prayers, conducted before breakfast, the faith was stripped of liturgy and focused on simple teachings from both Old and New Testaments. Religious, doctrinal jargon in particular had been abandoned.
    Naturally, they faced many challenges—arguments, jealousy, hurt feelings of one kind or another. But without the smothering influence of a world swimming in faithlessness, the children had matured remarkably well. There had been no overt acts of rebellion.
    Until now.
    Andrew believed David had always kept secrets. He walked with the air of a man plagued by more than the eyes could see. His understated reaction to the news that Billy had broken a cardinal rule made Andrew wonder if it really was news to the director at all. And now David claimed that good could come of this fall from grace. A power we only dream of.
    David averted his eyes. “We can’t rescue him, Andrew. We’ve poured our lives into him and
we’ve taught him the way of faith and virtue, but he must choose.”
    â€œThen the end may be upon us.”
    David walked to a large bookcase lined with hundreds of clothbound volumes. Two masks rested on one of the shelves, one black and one white, signifying the basic struggle between good and evil faced by every man and woman and child who lived. The director’s eyes lingered on the black mask before returning to Andrew. His eyes revealed deep emotion, whether fear or concern or resolve, Andrew couldn’t tell.
    â€œIt’s the power of the children’s choice that we’re after, isn’t it?”David said. “The power that resides deep in those spirits is staggering. But only when it’s tested will we see that power.”
    â€œThey’ve been tested, a thousand times.”
    â€œTested? Not really. Not the way they will be now.”
    Andrew paced, hands on hips. David made sense, but not enough to satisfy him. The tunnels had always been a mystery to the teachers, but from what Andrew knew, they were filled with evil. Raw evil. David repeatedly stated that the tunnels would dramatically alter the life of anyone who entered. The dungeons were off-limits to all.
    Andrew faced David. “What precisely will Billy face down there? I certainly have the right to know that much.”
    David studied him, and for a moment Andrew thought he would break. “You’ll know soon enough. Know this, the tunnels will open the mind. The heart.” He tapped his chest. “The will. This is where the battle resides, and this is where true power waits.”
    His vague answers were maddening.
    â€œIt’s rather strange that this occurs a week after the departure of Marsuvees Black.”
    No response.
    The monk from the deserts of Nevada claimed to have lived there in isolation for three years. David preferred clergy that had lived in solitude, he said. They had the character required for this confining assignment.
    But Marsuvees Black didn’t strike Andrew as a monk who’d spent three years alone. He seemed more like a one-man Vegas show who had finished his penance in the desert and was reclaiming the glory of his previous life.
    After nine months, he