The Seventh Vial: A Novel of the Great Tribulation (The Days of Elijah Book 4) Read online

  Rabbi Weismann nodded. “Yes. How far are these cities from Batumi?”

  Everett answered, “Roughly 550 miles, or about 900 kilometers.”

  Rabbi Herzog asked, “How safe are these cities? Isn’t it possible that the coming earthquake could cause them to collapse?”

  Again, Everett took this question. “We don’t have any data about a quake the size of the one that’s coming, but typically, the damage is only above ground. Body waves are transmitted through the earth’s inner layers while surface waves are restricted to the uppermost layer of the Earth’s surface, like ripples on the water. It’s the surface waves that cause all the damage.”

  Another member of the Knesset, Morty Berkowitz, inquired, “What if the entrances were to collapse?”

  “In the case of Derinkuyu, we have 600 entrances,” Tobias said. “But even if we were to be buried, the material is porous volcanic rock. It’s very easy to get through with simple chisels and mallets, which is why it was possible for these cities to be excavated on such a vast scale in the first place.”

  “If we decide to leave,” Rabbi Herzog began, “we will take our provisions with us, I suppose.”

  “Yes, sir,” Everett replied. “We’ve encouraged people to preserve as much meat and vegetables as possible via dehydration, which means it will be much lighter and easier to transport.”

  “Of course, the other side of that coin is that dehydrated food requires more water,” Rabbi Weismann stated. “Do the underground cities have wells?”

  “All have well.” Ali nodded. “Actually, Derinkuyu mean deep well.”

  Murry Goldman was the Knesset member sitting to the right of Saul Stein. He asked, “How do we know the water in the underground cities won’t turn to blood after the Third Vial? What if we leave the Goshen Valley where God has been providing for us to end up in a place where we have no water?”

  Murry’s concern seemed to spread like wildfire between the other members. They all began to whisper and speak amongst themselves.

  Everett took a deep breath before responding. “We don’t know. The water issue is out of our control. We’ll have to step out in faith on that one. But I’m confident that God will provide. He’s brought us this far.”

  “He’s brought us this far in the Goshen Valley.” Murry Goldman looked at the other members and the two rabbis. “To me, it makes no sense to leave the refuge HaShem has provided for us and run away in fear to some hole in the ground.”

  Rabbi Herzog spoke next. “HaShem provided Everett and his friends to lead us to this place. They brought us here safely. Perhaps it is also the Spirit of Adonai speaking through them to lead us to one last place of refuge.”

  Saul Stein crossed his arms. “Rabbi, respectfully, I want to remind you that Everett and his friends were acting under the direction of the prophets, Moses and Elijah, when they led us to this location.”

  Rabbi Herzog shook his head. “Moses and Elijah are not here. They are in Jerusalem. If Adonai is to lead us from this place it must be through someone else.”

  Morty Berkowitz said, “No offense to our distinguished guests, but I should think HaShem is more likely to lead us through the Chief Rabbinate Council and the wisdom of the Knesset before he would use an Arab and a Gentile.”

  Ali’s eyes drooped. He didn’t look angry about Berkowitz’s statement. He looked heartbroken, as if he wanted to be the man’s brother but knew he could not. He rebutted Morty’s assertion gently. “Paul said you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

  “I am sorry you don’t understand these things.” Ali picked up the heavily worn folder with his notes about the underground cities and turned to Everett. “I will be waiting for you outside.”

  “This young man has spoken the truth. He is our brother and just as much a son of Abraham as anyone in this room.” Rabbi Herzog stood to escort Ali to the door. “Perhaps even more so.”

  Everett gave Tobias a nod and the two of them also gathered their things.

  Rabbi Weismann stood up to address Everett and Tobias. “Where are the two of you going? The assembly has not been adjourned. We’re not finished.”

  Everett smiled at the man. “By all means, feel free to deliberate until the sun comes up, but we’ve finished our presentation and we’re going home.”

  The heated discussion among the Knesset grew louder as Everett and Tobias exited the room. Once outside, they found Rabbi Herzog giving Ali a warm embrace.

  The rabbi released Ali and turned his attention to Everett. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry several of the members have been so difficult.”

  Everett shook the man’s hand. “No apology necessary, at least not on your part. Our job was to provide the information. You’ve got the tough task of convincing them to do the right thing.”

  “Yes, well, do remember me in your prayers then.” Rabbi Herzog chuckled as he shook hands with Tobias.

  “I certainly will.” Everett gave the man a smile and led his team toward the public transit stop where they would catch the last wagon home.

  CHAPTER 3

  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

  Revelation 16:1-2

  Everett returned to the house Friday at sunset with a fresh catch of fish from the river. Courtney was on the couch watching television, which was powered by the small two-panel solar array Everett had put together. Between Ali’s experience working with the Turkish mafia and Tobias’ time with Mossad, the two of them had no trouble hacking the satellite signal to get basic TV service. Watch time was generally restricted to no more than twenty or thirty minutes as there were several other applications, like recharging batteries, which required the solar energy captured by the small photovoltaic system.

  “Need a hand with dinner?” Courtney walked into the kitchen and greeted Everett with a kiss.

  “I’m okay. Tobias and Ali are each bringing a dish. All I have to do is cook the fish.”

  Gideon and Dinah let themselves in the back door. Gideon was carrying a dish. “Tobias said there was a dinner party going on here. Do you have room for two more?”

  Courtney gathered dishes to set the table. “Depends. What’s in that casserole dish?”

  Dinah smiled hopefully. “My famous squash casserole.” Gideon’s new wife had long black hair, fair skin, a prominent nose, and beautiful dark eyes.

  “We’ll make room, in that case.” Everett opened the back door for Ali and Tobias who had just arrived.

  “How did it go with the Knesset last night?” Gideon asked.

  “Could have been worse,” Ali said.

  Tobias huffed. “It could have been better.”

  “Let me give you a hand with the dishes.” Dinah grabbed some glasses and followed Courtney to the small dining space, which was in the same open area of the cottage as the living room.

  Everett took the covered dishes from Ali and Tobias and placed them on the counter. “Since the Council and the Knesset still keep the Sabbath, they won’t meet this evening. They may get together on Sunday, but I doubt they’ll be able to reach a conclusion.”

  Courtney called out from the dining area. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You guys should get in here and see what’s happening on television.”

  Everett led the way and the other three men quickly followed him to the living room.

  GRBN Reporter Heather Smith handed a handkerchief to her co-anchor, Harrison Yates. “That bump on your head looks like it’s weeping, Har
rison. Here, take this. What did you do?”

  Harrison took the handkerchief as if he didn’t know what she was referring to. He pointed at Heather. “Your lip is swelling.”

  “What are you talking about?” The right side of her lower lip broke out into a boil as if she was having an allergic reaction. She seemed to feel the swelling and put the back of her hand on the boil.

  Harrison located the pussing sore on his forehead, just above his left eye. He dabbed at it with the handkerchief. “What is happening? Where did this come from?”

  Heather covered her mouth as she looked directly into the camera and mumbled loudly with her swollen lip. And waved wildly with her other hand. “Cut the feed! Go to break! Cut it now!”

  The screen cut to a story from an earlier broadcast, about genetically-enhanced peacekeepers.

  “Oh, it’s that piece about the GR supersoldiers. We’ve seen it twice already.” Everett picked up the remote and turned off the television. “That bump on Harrison’s head looked like a rotten egg.”

  “Yeah,” Courtney added. “And I guess Heather can skip her collagen injection this week. You couldn’t ask for fuller lips than what she has.”

  “That was disgusting.” Dinah peered through her fingers as if to make sure the grotesque image was gone from the surface of the television.

  Tobias shifted his eyes to Courtney. “You think this will motivate the Knesset to act?”

  “It’s the First Vial. If it doesn’t persuade them, I’m sure the next one will.” She resumed setting the table.

  “I don’t know. We may not see much more television coverage of the sores breaking out on Luz’s followers,” Gideon said. “GRBN is slow to report on things the GR can’t control. And since everyone around here believes that Yeshua is the true Messiah, I don’t expect to see anyone in the Goshen Valley breaking out with boils.”

  Everett retrieved an extra chair from the desk by the window to make six seats at the table. “If the Black Sea turns to blood in the Second Vial, we won’t need television coverage. We’ll smell it all through the valley. The coastal areas in Batumi will probably be unlivable.”

  “Let’s cook that fish and have dinner before I lose my appetite.” Tobias headed back into the kitchen.

  “You’re right.” Everett followed him. “We’ll have plenty of time to be miserable once the Second Vial is poured out.”

  Everett and Courtney spent the following week dehydrating vegetables and making beef jerky out of the meat they traded for fresh fish and excess crops from the garden. Even though they had only a small plot for growing, using fish heads and fish guts as fertilizer caused the little vegetable patch to yield an abundance of produce. Regardless of what the Knesset and the Chief Rabbinate Council decided about the relocation of the Jews, Everett and his group were in full preparation mode for the big move.

  The following Friday, Everett’s group scheduled another dinner together, but this time it would be hosted at Tobias and Ali’s house.

  Everett held hands with Courtney as they crossed the street. With her other hand, Courtney carried a big bag containing five loaves of homemade bread. Once they reached Tobias’ house, Everett knocked.

  “Come in my friends.” Ali opened the door with a big smile.

  “Good to see you, Ali.” Everett walked in.

  “Tobias is in his room listening to the Ham radio.” Ali escorted them to the back of the house.

  “Any news?” Courtney inquired of Tobias when they reached his room.

  “Just lots of speculation about the sores. They’ve ruled out Bubonic Plague and don’t think it’s transmitted person to person. But it’s much worse than what GRBN is letting on.”

  “GRBN didn’t invent fake news, they just perfected it.” Courtney rolled her eyes.

  Everett stood next to Tobias’ desk. “We haven’t seen a live reporter on GRBN since Yates and Smith signed off last week. That tells me everyone in the Holy Luzian Empire has sores on their face.”

  Someone knocked at the door. “That must be Dinah and Gideon. I will go let them in.” Ali excused himself from the room.

  “I don’t mean to be rude, but I might have to eat and run tonight.” Everett patted Tobias on the shoulder.

  “Why is that?” he asked.

  “I want to catch the last wagon down to the beach after sunset.”

  “He thinks the sea will turn to blood tonight,” Courtney explained.

  “Oh?” Tobias powered off the Ham radio. “Because Shabbat begins at sundown?”

  Everett shrugged. “The First Vial began at sunset, last Friday. It could be a pattern.”

  “Gideon will lend you his horses. I’ll ride with you unless Courtney was planning to go.”

  Everett turned to his wife. “She can ride behind me on the same horse if it’s okay with Gideon for us to borrow them.”

  “We’ll go right after supper.” Tobias led the way to the table.

  The meal consisted of fresh bread, roast beef, roasted potatoes, and summer squash. Ali asked God to bless the food and the six friends shared a wonderful meal. The conversation quickly turned to Everett’s speculation about the Second Vial beginning at sunset.

  “How long will you wait for the Knesset to decide?” Dinah asked.

  Everett took a drink of water. “It depends. If the sea turns to blood tonight, that most likely means all the water will turn to blood next week. I’d like to be underground before that happens. The stench alone is going to be unbearable.”

  “If it’s only the six of us, don’t you think we’ll be vulnerable during the trip?” Dinah moved her meat from side to side on her plate, as if she were apprehensive about the move.

  “Less vulnerable than we will be to the seventy-pound hailstones. MOC fighters are a high probability between here and Cappadocia, but the massive quake and killer hailstones are a certainty.” Everett looked up at her grimly. “I’m sorry. I wish we had better choices. But we’ve only got bad and worse.”

  “Will we be able to take the horses?” Dinah swallowed hard.

  Gideon stroked his wife’s back. “I found a trailer. We can hitch it to the Jeep. We’ll take the horses.”

  “You are sure we have enough fuel?” Ali let his fork rest on the side of his plate.

  Everett gave a slight nod. “The Golan is topped off with a mix of diesel, motor oil, and biofuel. That should get us there, as long as we don’t make any wrong turns. We dumped as much fuel stabilizer as we could get into the Jeep. It’s got a third tank of ethanol, which isn’t optimal, but It should make the trip as well.”

  Tobias said, “We could take four more people with us, even with all of our supplies. That would give us a more substantial security force for the journey.”

  “We’ve got the capacity, but everyone I’ve talked to is waiting to see what the rabbis and the Knesset say.” Everett took another bite of his potatoes.

  Courtney sipped her water. “I bet they’ll be lined up at the door wanting to go with us if you’re right about the Second Vial being tonight.”

  “First come, first serve,” Tobias said. “We’ll take the first four people who voice an interest in coming with us. After that, they’ll be responsible for providing their own fuel, provisions, and transportation.”

  “Do you know what day we will leave?” Ali waited for Everett to reply.

  “Wednesday morning,” he said. “It’s only a one-day trip, but we’re going in two vehicles that haven’t been driven in years. We have to account for setbacks.”

  Gideon finished chewing. “Although, it’s not like we're going in something we just pulled out of the junkyard. I fire up the engines once a week to keep the batteries charged and drive them up and down the driveway ever so often. I rub the tires with fish oil, lard or whatever I can find to keep them from dry rotting. If we had enough fuel for a leisurely Sunday drive, I’d take ‘em out a little more often.”

  Ali smiled at Gideon. “You make good job taking care of vehicles.”

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sp; “Thanks, Ali. I try.” Gideon took another piece of bread from the center plate.

  After dinner, Everett, Courtney, and Tobias took the two horses down to the beach. It took them just over half an hour to cover the ten-mile trek to the Black Sea. Everett let Courtney dismount first, then he stepped down onto the sand. He walked out to the edge of the water and bent down to let the wave wash up onto his hand. Immediately, he felt the water was thicker than it should be. He held his palm up to the light of the moon which was three-quarters full. It was red—blood red.

  “Everett! Is that you, my friend?” A voice called out from the direction of the street.

  Everett turned to see an old man and a slightly younger woman stepping onto the sand and heading his way. “Rabbi Herzog?”

  “Yes. We saw you ride by us.” The man hurried toward the edge of the water where Everett, Courtney, and Tobias stood with the horses. “This is Melinda Rosenbaum. She is a member of the Knesset.”

  “Yes, we’ve met. I would shake your hand but . . .” Everett held out his hand for the woman to see.

  “Oh, have you cut yourself?”

  “No. It’s from the sea. This is my wife, Courtney. And I’m sure you remember Tobias.”

  Melinda Rosenbaum shook hands with Courtney. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She quickly shifted her attention back to Everett. “From the sea, you said. Is it . . .”

  “The Second Vial. Yes, I’m afraid so.” Everett bent down to wipe the blood in the sand.

  “This is not good.” The rabbi shook his head as he looked out at the Black Sea.

  “We’re leaving on Wednesday to Cappadocia. You should come. We have room for both of you,” Everett offered.

  “I cannot leave. I must try to convince the Knesset to relocate the people.”

  Tobias asked, “What was the latest vote?”

  “Three to nine. Rabbi Weismann is firmly entrenched on the side that wants to stay.” Ms. Rosenbaum looked distressed.