Angel of the Abyss: A Novel of the Great Tribulation (The Days of Elijah Book 3) Read online

  The Days of Elijah

  Book Three:

  Angel of the Abyss

  Mark Goodwin

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  Technical information in the book is included to convey realism. The author shall not have liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or allegedly caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

  All of the characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 Goodwin America Corp.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote short passages in a review.

  ISBN: 1546882251

  ISBN-13: 978-1546882251

  DEDICATION

  To Jesus, my Messiah.

  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

  John 15:4-6

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Special thanks to my beautiful wife and faithful companion. Thank you for your love, encouragement, and support.

  I would like to thank my fantastic editing team, Catherine Goodwin, Ken and Jen Elswick, Jeff Markland, Frank Shackleford, Kris Van Wagenen, Sherrill Hesler, Paul Davison, and Claudine Allison.

  CHAPTER 1

  Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

  Hosea 4:3

  February-Near Woodstock, Virginia.

  Everett Carroll stared blankly at the barren moonscape surrounding the cave entrance. Nothing remained but rocks, mud, and a few charred remnants of tree stumps, which had not been totally destroyed in the fire. The new growth, which sprung up after the all-consuming blaze, was now brown and withered. Very little plant life had the tolerance to withstand the prodigious amounts of arsenic released into the surface water and top soil by Wormwood’s debris field. No animal life survived.

  Not only did the landscape look like an uninhabited planet, it was also as silent as a grave. No birds sang, no squirrels barked, and no chipmunks scurried about the leaves on the forest floor. Bleak. Miserable. The morning felt like wearing a pair of wet socks at the beginning of a soggy day.

  Two months had passed since the Earth had smashed through the comet’s poisonous debris field. Five weeks had gone by since Moses and Elijah set out for their journey to Jerusalem.

  Courtney Carroll emerged from the cave followed by Sox, the cat.

  Everett turned toward her. “Don’t let him out! We have no idea how much arsenic is still in the soil. He’ll get it on his feet, then when he washes, it will get in his system.”

  Courtney quickly scooped up the animal and held him in her arms like a baby. “He just wants some fresh air like the rest of us.”

  Everett forced a smile. “I know. I didn’t mean to be so abrasive. Cabin fever is getting to me.”

  A gust of cold air sent chills through Everett’s body, and he turned his face away from the wind.

  “You mean cave fever. We’ve had cabin fever. This is way worse.” Courtney shielded the cat from the breeze. “Complete desolation.”

  “Yeah, even the cave seems inviting compared to this.” He stared down the path which led to the creek. “I wish it would snow. A blanket of clean white powder would go a long way in making everything look better. Nothing is more depressing than this muddy, scorched terrain.”

  “You miss Elijah, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. I miss his guidance, but it’s more than that. I felt like we had a purpose when he was here. Now, I feel like we’re just waiting for the end. Like serving a prison sentence.”

  “Me, too. It’s like we’re waiting to die.”

  Everett wished he hadn’t said anything. He was supposed to be the spiritual leader, the one who keeps everyone’s spirits up by offering an encouraging word. Courtney, Kevin, and Sarah were all counting on him to keep things together. Now he’d failed. Courtney’s hope was slipping away. And so was his.

  He dug down deep for a small sliver of inspiration. “We have to remember that we won’t be here much longer. Glory is right around the corner.” The words sounded flat, empty, insincere.

  Courtney glanced over at him, still holding the cat close. “You don’t have to fake it, Everett. It’s okay to feel a little down. It’s the Apocalypse. It’s supposed to be bad.”

  “Hmm.” He couldn’t do that either. If he allowed himself the least amount of self-pity, he’d be on a slippery slope that would end in utter desperation.

  “I’m going back inside. I’ve seen enough of this.” Courtney turned toward the cave, ducked down and sent Sox in ahead of herself.

  Everett continued to stare at the bleak nothingness. He watched as the bitter wind swept up ash and dust, swirling it into a dismal cloud, and obscuring the desolate landscape behind.

  Inside the dust cloud, Everett noticed ghost-like figures, almost human in their form. The mysterious apparition sent chills up his spine, adding to the wintery bitterness, which was already making him shiver. He waited for the whirling mass of filth and grime to subside, and for the shadowy form to dissipate. It did not; rather the phantoms drew closer and became more lifelike. Without turning away from the two approaching wraiths, Everett stepped back toward the mouth of the cave and picked up his HK rifle.

  The figures drew closer and it was apparent to Everett that this was not just an illusion. “Am I having a vision?” He squinted at what appeared to be two men dressed in long, hooded cloaks. Their faces were wrapped, and they shielded themselves from the frigid elements.

  “Who would be out in this? Who could have even survived?” Everett held his rifle at a low-ready position as he peered harder at the two uninvited visitors. He ducked down and yelled into the cave. “Kevin, we’ve got company. I could use a little help out here!”

  Seconds later, Kevin emerged from the cave, AR-15 in hand. “I was starting to think we were the last people alive around here.”

  Everett continued to watch.

  Finally, one of the men removed his hood and called out while he was still some distance down the trail. “Hello!”

  Everett tilted his head slightly. “Did that sound like Elijah?”

  Kevin’s forehead puckered. “Yeah, it did.”

  Everett lowered his rifle, but only slightly. “Elijah, is that you?”

  “Yes, yes. It is I.”

  Everett let his weapon hang from the sling and began walking toward the two men to greet them. Kevin followed close behind.

  Moses pulled the hood off his head. “Can we go inside? We’ve been in this blustering wind for days.”

  “Of course. Are you okay? What happened
? I thought you were going to Jerusalem.” Everett was dumbfounded.

  “We hit something of a snag.” Elijah sounded discouraged.

  Kevin walked next to Elijah. “What happened?”

  Moses scowled. “New Atlantis lies in complete ruins. The Global Republic is breaking camp, and is taking everything to Israel. We went to the airport in hopes that Jehovah would open a door for us, which would allow us passage to Jerusalem. It seems that the guards restricting travel for those without the mark are the only form of government left.”

  “We were very nearly captured,” Elijah added.

  “Where’s your truck?” Everett asked.

  “We ran out of fuel near Centerville. We had to walk the rest of the way,” Elijah answered.

  “You must be exhausted.” Everett stood to the side, letting Moses and Elijah enter the cave ahead of him.

  “And famished,” Moses commented as he ducked low to enter the cave.

  “We’ll get you something to eat.” Everett put his hand on the old prophet’s back as they entered the cave.

  “Elijah!” Courtney exclaimed.

  “Hello, hello, child.” Elijah embraced her, giving her a kiss on each cheek.

  Sarah greeted him next. “It’s so good to see you, but I’m afraid it means your mission isn’t going well.”

  Moses put one finger in the air. “All is progressing according to His will. We cannot know why things do not work out as we suppose they will. It is only for us to accept the circumstances as they come and trust that He is still in control. If the Holy Scriptures say we must prophesy for 1260 days, then we will indeed prophesy.”

  Everett retrieved two canteens full of water and offered one to each of the men. “What brought you back here?”

  “We had nowhere else to go.” Elijah took the canteen and drank deeply. “At least here, we have shelter, food, water, and good company.”

  “You’re always welcome.” Courtney smiled.

  Sarah brought MREs for the two men. “Eat all you want, but you might want to save some room. We’re making chili mac tonight. I’ve perfected the recipe using the long-term storage food ingredients.”

  “Chili mac?” Moses’ bushy eyebrows knitted together showing his curiosity.

  “Yeah, I use TVP, tomato sauce, canned red beans, and macaroni.”

  “What is TVP?” Moses sounded suspicious.

  Sarah seemed to fight back a grin. “Textured vegetable protein. Mixed in a recipe like my chili mac, it tastes like ground beef.”

  “Almost like ground beef.” Kevin winked.

  “To be honest, I’ve forgotten what real ground beef tastes like.” Sarah turned to begin gathering the ingredients for dinner.

  Kevin sighed. “I haven’t.”

  “Let’s hear about your trip.” Everett anxiously changed the subject. He’d slaughtered Elijah’s two pet goats shortly after the prophets left weeks earlier. Elijah had given him expressed permission to do so, but that was when he thought he’d never be back. All this talk of meat and the obvious absence of the two animals had to be painful for the old man. Everett took the canteens from the men. “I’ll refill these for you.”

  Elijah reclined on one of the sleeping bags, which Courtney had laid out for the two visitors. “When we left here, we went straight away to Dulles International, certain that God would provide passage for us. The airport itself was in shambles from the impact with Wormwood’s debris field. Only two of the runways were operational. Both were damaged. The underground people mover that carries passengers from one concourse to the other was completely shut down, so the airport is using above-ground trams to ferry travelers from station to station.

  “I saw this as an opportunity. We found a damaged section of fence along the perimeter and used it to get inside without a security screen. We walked up to the Air France terminal and asked one of the baggage handlers where the flight to Tel Aviv might be. He most graciously pointed us in the right direction. We proceeded to the plane, which just so happened to be boarding, and got in line.

  “When we reached the door, a woman wanted to scan our Mark implants. I held out my hand hoping that Jehovah would work a miracle with the machine, but . . .”

  “Wow!” Courtney explained. “That took a lot of faith.”

  “No!” Moses held up his index finger. “If God had told us to do such a thing, it would have been faith. Jumping into this reckless action and making assumptions about how God should act took an abundance of foolishness.”

  Elijah scolded him in retaliation for the harsh comment. “You should have voiced your opposition to the plan before the attendant called security, and we had to flee for our very lives.”

  Moses crossed his arms and turned away from Elijah. “Hmmf.” The old prophet did not refute his part in going along with the scheme, but neither did he seem ready to accept responsibility.

  Elijah continued his debrief. “Anyway, we made our way to the coast and looked for ships that might carry us to the Holy City. Obviously, we proceeded with an abundance of caution. We traveled from port to port, praying, fasting, waiting, and trying to talk to anyone who might help. We spent three weeks looking but found no opportunities.”

  Moses finished one MRE and tore into a second one. “We had no money, and no provision, so Elijah proposed that we come back here until the Lord will show us the way.”

  Everett sat with his index finger on his lower lip. The finger showed his pensive state, but it may also have acted to keep his lower jaw from hanging wide open in absolute shock that God had not opened a door for the two men to get to their destination. Both had been brought back from the other side of the veil; from the realm of the spirit to the land of flesh, blood, and decrepit mortality. The mission had been specifically prophesied of 2,000 years ago. The entire chapter of Revelation 11 was dedicated to the two men sitting in the cave with Everett and the rest of his compadres. And here they sat, in a cold hard cavern, perfectly sidelined, thoroughly dissuaded, and 6,000 miles away from their objective. If God would not act on their behalf, they might as well be on the opposite side of the universe.

  The group continued to listen to the specifics of Elijah and Moses’ travels while Sarah made supper. The two prophets were still able to eat healthy portions despite having eaten two entire MREs each.

  After dinner, Elijah insisted that they sing several worship songs to feed their disheartened spirits. By the second song, everyone was participating; even Kevin, who rarely sang. Afterward, they turned off their flashlights, one by one, and the cave took on its distinctive, complete, and absolute darkness. Encouraged by the time of praise and worship, Everett slept better that he had in months.

  The next morning, Everett was awoken by Moses and Elijah. They were filling their canteens and placing some provisions into daypacks. Kevin was speaking quietly with the prophets.

  Everett got out of his sleeping bag, slipped on his boots, and made his way over to the three men. “Where are you two going?”

  “The mountain. We must seek the face of the Lord.” Moses fastened the flap on his pack.

  “We’re on a mountain.” Everett zipped up his sweatshirt.

  “Another mountain,” Elijah said.

  “Would you like some company? I’d be happy to come along for security.” Everett took the cup of coffee that Kevin offered to him.

  “No. God will be our rock and our shield.” Moses’ response was delivered very matter-of-factly.

  “We shall return when we have heard from God.” Elijah hoisted his daypack on his shoulder and led the way out of the cave.

  Everett’s eyebrows showed his concern. “Have a good trip.”

  Kevin waved. “Take care.”

  Once the two men were out of the cavern, Everett turned to Kevin. “I think I should tail them, from a distance.”

  Kevin nodded. “Yeah. It’s not safe for them to be out there unarmed. But if you’re going, you better pack warm. If you build a fire, they’ll spot you. And there’s no telling
how long you’ll be out on the trail. It could be days or weeks.”

  Everett grabbed a large backpack and began filling it. “I’m not staying weeks. I’ll provide over watch for up to three days. After that, they’re on their own.”

  Courtney was up and had her blanket wrapped around her. “Not exactly on their own.”

  A pang of guilt hit Everett. “Yeah, you’re right. But you know what I mean.” After everything he’d been through, he knew none of them were on their own. They’d have all been dead ten times over if they were.

  “But you’re going to tail them anyway?” Courtney raised a brow.

  “God doesn’t expect us to be morons. We’re responsible for being good stewards of the common sense he gave us.” Everett tucked several magazines in his pack on top of the wool blanket and MREs.

  “Well, they’ll be insulted that you followed them after they asked you not to.” Courtney took a seat on the upside-down bucket next to the rocket stove where Kevin was making coffee.

  “Better insulted than dead.” Everett gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back by sunset Saturday. I’m not staying out in the cold more than two nights.”

  “You take care of yourself, Everett.” Her eyes showed her concern.

  “I will. Don’t you worry.” He made his way to the mouth of the cave.

  Kevin offered him a smile as he left. “We’ll be praying for you.”

  “Thanks.” Everett waved, ducked low, and exited the cave.

  He stood up and took a deep breath of the fresh air. The wind had died down, so it was no longer stirring up the dust and debris. The temperature was near freezing, but the lack of wind and warming rays of the sun made it feel much warmer. “Let’s hope it stays like this.” Everett slowly started down the trail which led to the creek. He didn’t see the two prophets, but he felt certain this was the way they’d gone. Once he spotted the men in the distance he slowed his pace.