A NOVEL ─ THE ADVENTURES OF KEVIN KRAMER IN COMMUNIST EUROPE ─ A Novel about the End Times ─ Chapter 8 ─ "The Python Strikes"

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The Adventures of Kevin Krämer in Communist Europe

- The Escape from Communist Europe -

 (A Novel about the End Times)

By: Justin Brown (a pen name)

Recommended reading for ages 14 and older.

This is a novel for teens and adults.

This novel contains some violence (such as gunshots and fights); intense chase scenes;

clean romantic elements (i.e. clean conversations between a guy and his girlfriend);

 and themes appropriate for teenagers and adults.

You will not find any profanity, immorality, or gore in this novel.

It is written to edify the reader, and not to provoke sinful thoughts.

This story is free to be copied, printed, and distributed, but it must remain unaltered.

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Synopsis

Europe has been invaded, the superpower across the sea is no more, and the country of "Baltania" is controlling Europe through communistic puppet governments. Under the oppressive cloud of communism, a small group of underground Christians faces a powerful crime organization bent on their capture and destruction. 

Under this heavy, oppressive cloak, Kevin Kramer, a 30-year-old, and Maritza, his attractive, 27-year-old girlfriend, must decide who they will serve as they fall in love with each other, start a romantic relationship, and try to evade the unrelenting and dangerous members of a criminal organization, which seeks to kidnap underground Christians to sell to the secret police.

Together with some friends, Kevin and Maritza must do their best to avoid being captured as they learn to trust God and follow His guiding hand in these last days just before the rise of the Antichrist. This fast-paced story is designed to be fascinating. But, don't just take our word for it... 

[Note: Baltania is a fictional country within the Eurasian land mass. At one time, it had a communistic past. During a third world war, communism revived in this country as it's armies conquered Europe. Since we do not want to point fingers at any particular country, we will not name this country or coalition of countries.]

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Chapter 8

"The Python Strikes"

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Kühnburg Forest

A green Delta Solarstorm electric car pulled off to the side of a dirt road which ran through the extensive Kühnburg forest. It was a road Kevin had never been on before. He was sitting in the driver’s seat, and Maritza sat in the front passenger seat. They had just passed through almost two kilometers of a bumpy, pockmarked, dirt road. Kevin opened his door and stretched before gazing up at the upper branches of spruce trees, which were swaying in a breeze.

Both he and Maritza were dressed in dark-green trousers and long-sleeve shirts. Her blond hair was in a ponytail and she wore a green watch cap over her head and camouflage face paint. Kevin also wore a camouflage watch cap and camouflage face paint, but he felt a little silly with the streaks of brown, black, and green paint coating his face, and Maritza light-heartedly teased him about it.

“Kevin, it looks like you have a thick, black mustache under your nose and on your cheeks,” she said merrily.

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“Really?” Kevin said. He looked in the driver’s side window at his reflection and unmistakably could see what he hadn’t given any thought to before. The mustache paint job she had spoken of became obvious to him now. It was thick and black and swept under his nose. Kevin knew he hadn’t intended to give himself a mustache. He was just putting random streaks of paint on his face to conceal himself, but he had made himself look somewhat humorous.

Then, turning to Maritza, Kevin said, teasingly, “But, you have a goatee, Maritza.”

“What?” she said, placing a hand on her chin. She turned to look in a car window and squinted at her reflection. The pattern of black, green, and brown streaks across her face had been so jumbled that she hadn’t noticed several black streaks on her chin, which somewhat resembled a goatee.

“Very funny, Kevin,” Maritza said as she looked at him again.

She opened the car door again and reached toward the glove box. From it she drew out a camouflage face paint kit. Then, she placed several green and brown streaks over the black streaks to remove her ‘goatee.’ Once she thought it looked good, Maritza stood up and faced Kevin.

“What do you think now?” she said. “The goatee is gone, right?”

“Yeah, it’s gone,” he said, chuckling.

“What are you laughing about?” she said, confused.

“It’s just that we’re treating each other like a brother and sister,” Kevin said.

“That’s right, brother,” she said, jokingly.

Then, Kevin turned away and glanced at the trees and shrubs on either side of the dirt road. “So, where are the other people we’re supposed to meet?”

After Kevin and Maritza had left Rolf and Svenja’s apartment, Maritza had gone to her apartment building, and Kevin had returned to his. A few days had passed as he continued working at the furniture factory; and had returned to the city park a couple times to drop off secret messages for Maritza; and had sought God and read the Bible.

“They should be here very soon,” Maritza said as she began scanning through the trees to see if she could spot anyone who might be hiding in the forest.

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The day had arrived when Svenja, Tamara, and Maritza had agreed to meet up with Kevin in the Kühnburg forest. But Svenja had visited Kevin’s apartment just the day before and had told her brother that she and Rolf would not be able to make it. Kevin had then met Maritza in a designated spot and had informed her of the change of events. They had decided to go together in a rental car to a spot Maritza knew of where the meeting would be held. Tamara had told Maritza she would be arriving at the forest meeting place along with some of her friends she was staying with.

Five minutes passed before an engine sound came from the road they had just driven up. Kevin and Maritza turned in time to see a small, white Delta Ellipse* passenger van approach. He felt his pulse increase a little. He wasn’t sure if the van was carrying Christians or secret police. The van pulled up beside Kevin’s rental car and the doors opened. [* This is a fictional van.]

From the van emerged six people: Konrad Adebayo; Tamara; an African teenage girl; a brown-haired German guy; a young, dark-haired, German woman; and a young, middle-eastern guy. The middle-eastern guy appeared to be in his early twenties, and the teen girl appeared to be of high-school age. The Germans Kevin hadn’t met also appeared to be in their twenties. All were wearing face paint and camouflage or dark green clothes.

Konrad Adebayo and Tamara approached Kevin and Maritza, and warmly greeted them. After they had exchanged greetings, Konrad said, “It is good to see you again. I want to introduce some folks to you, Kevin.”

Then, he had the group stand near him, and Konrad made some introductions. Kevin learned that the African girl was named Elizabeth; the middle-eastern guy was Abdul; and the ethnic Germans were Klaus and Clara.

“We look like we’re all ready to go turkey hunting,” Kevin said to the group and several chuckled.

“Follow me,” Konrad said as he started walking toward some bushes.

Konrad and a column of Christians, trailing behind him, hiked for some distance through the forest. As they went, Maritza walked on ahead of Kevin and soon began chatting with the black teen girl as she walked beside her. Kevin felt a little disappointed that she had been so quick to walk on ahead, but he let go of it and started up a conversation with Abdul who was walking just in front of him.

“So, I haven’t been here before. Have you?” Kevin said.

Abdul turned and slowed up to let Kevin walk alongside him. “I’ve been here several times before,” Abdul said.

“What country are you originally from?” Kevin said.

“I’m from Syria. My family moved to Germany in 2016 when the war in Syria was going very strong. We had to escape the violent fighting that was reaching our area of the country, but when we entered Germany, they put us in a refugee camp where we were persecuted for our faith in Jesus. You see, our family was Christian, and some of the people in the refugee center were hateful of Christians, and they persecuted us.”

“We’re they your neighbors?” Kevin said.

“No, but they were other refugees,” Abdul said. “But, that is past. We were able to get asylum in Germany and obtain work permits. A while after that, the Baltanians invaded Germany and conquered it. We were required to apply for citizenship in the new Germany, the Communist Republic of Germany, but we obtained that quickly since God was working on our behalf.”

“Wow,” Kevin said with a low whistled. “God was keeping you all that time. That must have been really hard for you and your family. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“Yes,” Abdul said, looking down. “But, I don’t know where they are.”

“Why?”

“While I was away from them, Baltanian soldiers entered our apartment and took them away. I learned from other Christians here that once the communist soldiers have taken your family, you likely will never know where they took them. But, they probably took them to a prison camp.”

“Why didn’t they take you?” Kevin said.

“I had taken some time off from work,” Abdul said, “and was reading my Bible in a remote location to get some unhindered time with God, and tranquility. But, I also had felt God showing me to leave. I had warned my family with what God had shown me that soldiers would take them away, and that they needed to seek God, but they didn’t listen to me. They said that that would never happen, and that I should just let them be. I believe God had warned my family too, but they didn’t listen to His warning either.”

“Where did you go after that?” Kevin said, looking at the Arab with curiosity.

“I hid out in the forest for a few days until God directed me to meet a Nigerian man, named Daniel, who owned a large house in the woods,” Abdul said. “He and Monika, his German wife, became like a father and mother to me.”

Kevin looked at him with a thoughtful expression on his face. “God provided for you,” he said.

“That’s right,” Abdul said. “And, I am very grateful. You see, I met Daniel while he was taking a walk with his wife through the woods. At that time I was 17. I’m now 20, so that was three years ago. Daniel gave me a place to stay, and food, and everything I need. And, I helped him out with different projects he was doing, such as remolding his guest house and repairing a lawn mower.”

“What’s his house like? I heard that he was going to have some underground Christians stay there. If he’d be for having more guests, I would likely plan to stay there too.”

“I’m sure he would let you stay at his place. As for the description of his home, it’s three stories high and is full of bedrooms,” Abdul said. “It has one bathroom per floor and a basement with more rooms. I asked Daniel once why he had such a large house, and he just told me that the Jesus had blessed him and had given him a large house to use for God’s Kingdom.”

“Where did he get the money for the house?”

“He told me had inherited a lot of money from some rich relatives in Nigeria,” Abdul said. “And, he had also saved up some of his own money.”

“Okay, so how would the mansion be used for God’s Kingdom?” Kevin said.

“At first I didn’t quite understand how God would use that mansion for His Kingdom, especially since no one knew it even existed,” Abdul said. “Ever since I first came there, I’ve seen God bring a few families and single people there. Some would come one month. Then, three weeks later, more would come. The communist authorities have no clue of this house’s existence, and Daniel wants to keep it that way.”

“But, does Daniel have a cell phone?” Kevin said. “The Communist Republic of Germany can spy on all forms of electronic communication, I’ve heard.”

“The house is built not too far from a river,” Abdul said. “A small, concealed waterwheel spins an electric generator to supply the house with free electricity. But, Daniel and Monika, his wife, have no cell phones, computers, or any digital devices. So, they live very simply lives.”

“Do they have any children?” Kevin said.

“Yes, Elizabeth is their daughter,” Abdul replied. “And, they have a younger son named Henry.”

“I’d like to meet that family soon. And, I might need a place to stay,” Kevin said.

“I’m sure you’d be welcome,” Abdul said, smiling.

“So, who are Klaus and Clara, those two Germans in their twenties?” Kevin said, glancing at the young Caucasians walking ahead of him.

“They are a Christian married couple who came to stay at Daniel and Monika’s house,” Abdul said.

After Kevin and Abdul had chatted for a little while longer, the group reached a small clearing where a dozen sawed-off sections of a log had been placed in a circle around a small fire pit. Bushes had been cleared away to make room for the seating arrangement, but some twigs remained, scattered on the grassy ground. The log sections were only large enough for a single person to sit on each one.

Kevin greeted the young German couple and chatted with them briefly before Konrad said, “Alright, folks, let’s have a seat.”

Maritza sat down and placed her Bible on a nearby log to indicate she was reserving it for someone. And, Kevin looked for a seat, walking around the circle. As he approached Maritza, she removed her Bible, looked up at him, and patted the seat.

He sat on the log beside her log seat and whispered a ‘thank you.’ She glanced at him and grinned, shyly.

Then, the meeting started. Konrad began with a prayer for God’s guidance. Then, he opened his Bible and flipped to a place in the book of Proverbs. Konrad said, “Proverbs 14:12 says: ‘[12] There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.’

Looking up at the group, he said, “Folks, we are not in the Germany of the 1990s or the early 2000s. This is the Communist Republic of Germany, and it is run by the Baltanian government as a puppet government. We don’t have freedom of worship or the freedom to spread the Gospel, but God promised to guide us by His Spirit.”

Continuing, Konrad said, “Galatians 5:16-18 says: ‘[16] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. [17] For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. [18] But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’”

Kevin raised his hand. And Konrad looked his way. “Konrad, what does it mean to walk in the Spirit?”

“It means we need to seek God by asking Him what to do, by listening to His voice, and by obeying what He shows us,” Konrad said. “We can do that at any time, but in order to hear God, we must be still and expect to hear His Spirit speak to us.”

“I’ve heard God speak to me,” Kevin said.

“And, did you obey Him?” Konrad said.

“Yes,” Kevin said, nodding.

“Keep doing that and you will hear more from Abba Father God,” Konrad said. “He will guide you and all of us in how to witness to people, when, where, and so on. Since He is our loving, compassionate Father and our best Friend, Abba God will talk with us about any topic we ask Him about. And, He will reveal truth from the Bible to us which will bless our relationships with Him and our personal lives.”

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Maritza’s Apartment

“So, God has been showing you as well that He wants you to move over to Daniel and Monika’s place in the woods?” Kevin said as he visited briefly with Maritza in her kitchen. Much of her stuff was packed up in cardboard boxes and was ready to move. She was just placing some items into a small cardboard box on a counter.

“Yes,” Maritza said. “It will actually be a relief to me because I’ve been stocked by evil men who seek to kidnap me for reward money since I’m an underground Christian. And, one of the men in my apartment building has invited me to eat out with him, even though he is married. I had to tell him ‘no’ several times already. I’m sure his wife has no knowledge of his perverse interest in me.”

Kevin felt some anger rising up inside him. ‘How dare those men pester Maritza,’ he thought. Then, he said out loud, “That perverted man needs to learn a lesson in the proper treatment of women. And, Dietmar and his wicked friend need to suffer for seeking to kidnap you.”

“Kevin, you must forgive them like I have had to,” Maritza said with concern in her face. “Jesus told us to love our enemies and to forgive those who have done wrong by us. Jesus said this in Matthew 6:12 when He taught the disciples how to pray: ‘[12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ Then, in Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus said: ‘[14] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: [15] But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’”

As she said those quotes from the Bible, Kevin felt conviction that he was holding onto some bitterness in his heart, and he realized that he must not take matters into his own hands. ‘It is for God to work on Maritza’s behalf,’ Kevin thought. He realized that he was only supposed to follow God’s guidance and direction. He also recalled reading Romans 12:17, which says, “[17] Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.”

Maritza left the kitchen, and his sister Svenja entered to get a glass of water.

While she did, Kevin said silently, just to God: “Father God, I was wrong to harbor bitterness toward those men. I choose to forgive them, even though I don’t feel like it. And, I leave these problems in your hands. May you guide those men into the truth and deliver them from the devil’s traps and snares. In Jesus Christ’s name, amen.”

“My son,” God said to Kevin’s spirit, “I am the Lord your God and Abba Father, and you are precious to Me. I want you to know that it is good for you to go with Maritza to the house of safety. There, I will provide for you and protect you. I will guide you in ministering throughout your town, and then I will lead you and your group to another location to live.

“For, eventually the forces of darkness will discover the home of that Christian couple and will invade it. But, I will deliver you and the others from the hands of the wicked and lead you to a more permanent place of safety. And, I the Lord your God and Abba Father have spoken.”

“Thank you, Father God,” Kevin said. “I’m so grateful to have you speaking to me like this.”

“You’re welcome, My son,” God replied in a gracious, gentle tone.

Kevin left the kitchen and passed into the living room. Seeing a medium-sized box that was ready to go, he bent down to pick it up. As he did, Rolf, the 2.44-meter giant, entered the living room from the narrow, apartment hallway. He grinned and said, “Your girlfriend has a lot of stuff.”

“But, she’s planning on donating some of it to a second hand store,” Kevin said as he lifted the box and walked forward. 

He passed down the narrow hallway, through the front door, and out into the corridor. As he walked, Kevin thought, ‘It’s interesting that her apartment has the same layout as my apartment. It must be that the same company built both buildings.’ He entered a stairwell at the end of the hallway and descended the steps, sending echoing footfalls up the concrete shaft.

Soon, he had reached the ground level and was walking down a white-linoleum-floored, door-lined corridor on the first floor. Several steps later, Kevin was in the parking lot walking toward a yellow moving van. Abdul was inside the storage compartment of the van, arranging items to make them fit better.

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Dietmar

A group of tall, closely spaced arborvitae bushes formed a wall of dense foliage along one side of the mostly empty parking lot. It was in the middle of a work day, but someone was standing behind the dense bushes, and focusing on the people moving boxes and furniture into the yellow moving van. Dietmar held up a pair of binoculars to his face and zoomed in on Kevin through a small gap in the leafy twigs.

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Dietmar’s sleuthing skills had improved with Wolf’s help. Since he knew where Kevin lived, Dietmar was able to secretly follow Kevin and locate the blond girl’s apartment. A couple days ago, on a particular evening, Dietmar had been lurking in some bushes near Kevin’s apartment building. He had spotted Kevin pull up to the building in a rental car.

When Kevin had entered the building, Dietmar had quickly walked up to the rental car and had placed a magnetic GPS tracking device on a piece of metal in a wheel well. Satisfied that it was well hidden, Dietmar had left the parking lot and had returned to his own apartment. In the comfort of his own home, Dietmar had tracked the rental car by way of computer software Wolf had given him.

After half an hour of boredom had passed, Dietmar had seen that a red tracking dot, which indicated the position of Kevin’s car, was on the move. Excited, he had noted its route of travel on a GPS map. The tracking dot had headed across the town, traveling a number of blocks away from Kevin’s apartment building.

Then, the car had pulled into the parking lot of a different apartment complex, and had stopped before one particular building. The car had idled outside the building for a little over three minutes before it had moved again. Dietmar had assumed that that particular building must be where Kevin’s girlfriend lived. He had then written the address down on a piece of paper.

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Now, Dietmar was outside the same apartment building. He had not opted for Wolf’s brutal tactic of threatening Kevin with a gun, at least not yet. He wanted to be more subtle than that but still be effective at achieving his objectives.

From his vantage point, Dietmar could see Kevin carrying another cardboard box out to the yellow moving van. A couple moments later, Kevin emerged from the back of the van and walked toward the building entrance. Then, to Dietmar’s surprise, he spotted an attractive, blond-haired girl carrying a box from the stairwell door and up toward the moving van. ‘It’s her,’ he thought. ‘That’s Kevin’s girlfriend.’

Dietmar drew out his smartphone and made a call.

“Hello, Dietmar, did you find the girl we’re after?” Wolf’s voice came through the phone.

“I did. It appears she may be moving,” Dietmar said quietly.

“I’ll send Scorpion and Python to you immediately. Don’t let those people leave before my men arrive. Do you hear?” Wolf said with sternly.

“They’re still in the process of moving. You have plenty of time,” Dietmar said.

“If they leave before my men arrive, I will take away half of your earnings for this month,” Wolf threatened before he ended the call.

Dietmar put up with Wolf, but he secretly despised his boss, who often treated him poorly. But Dietmar didn’t even think of leaving the criminal organization he was part of because he was lured in by the large sums of cash Wolf was offering him.

A few more minutes passed as the people loading the yellow moving van continued to do so. Then, an exceptionally-tall man with brown, curly hair returned the loading ramp into its place and shut the rear door of the vehicle. A woman Dietmar hadn’t seen before exited the building and approached the van. The tall man opened the driver’s door and climbed in while the woman climbed through the open passenger door. A Middle-eastern man, who had just emerged from the building, joined them in the van, and slammed the door shut.

Then, the van started up and drove off. Dietmar felt like pulling out his hair as he watched it drive over to a street and turn into a busy lane of traffic. Wolf would be very angry to see that he had lost the blond girl. But, before he could utter a string of profanities, Dietmar realized that the blond girl had not even left the building. ‘She is still there,’ he thought. And, he remembered, to his relief, that he had written down the license plate of the van. He planned on soon sending Wolf a text message containing the license plate number.

Just then, a white delivery van pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop in front of the apartment building, not far from the main entrance. ‘That has to be Scorpion and Python,’ Dietmar thought. He had never heard their real names. Wolf and his men always went by code names.

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The Plumbers

Kevin and Maritza were walking down the first-floor hallway, after having descended through the stairwell. Maritza had just locked her apartment door and was satisfied that it was thoroughly empty of her stuff.

“It’s nice to have all that stuff gone, isn’t it?” Kevin said, glancing at his attractive, blond-haired girlfriend.

“It is. But, I realize I will probably have to give most of it away,” Maritza said quietly. “I don’t think it will be practical to move it all to Daniel and Monika’s place, even though they have lots of room.”

Kevin suddenly felt a strong feeling that he should not go out the front entrance. He wondered if that feeling came from God, so he stopped. In the apartment just five minutes ago, Kevin had gotten a feeling or a prompting to have Maritza leave the apartment even while the others were still present. He didn’t know why that feeling had come, but it was now stronger than ever. Maritza continued walking, but Kevin called her over to him.

“What is it, Kevin?” she said softly, turning back to him.

“Kevin, run back down hall! Run!” a voice suddenly spoke to Kevin’s spirit. And, he felt a strong sense in his spirit that he needed to take Maritza’s hand and run in the opposite direction of where he was headed.

“We need to stop right here. I have to ask God something,” Kevin said quietly, not sure if wanted to actually grab her hand right then, and run.

Then, he said to God silently, “Father God, I sense that I shouldn’t go forward through the main entrance. Is this feeling from you? And, are you telling me to run?”

Before he finished his question, the steel main entrance door opened and two muscular Caucasian men, wearing matching, blue-collared shirts and blue baseball caps, entered. Both wore tool belts, had brown leather boots, and were clean-shaven. A logo of a plumbing company appeared on their hats and shirts.

“Run!” the voice spoke to Kevin’s spirit more loudly than before.

“What’s going on, Kevin?” Maritza said, giving him a questioning look.

He hesitated, wondering how he could feel so strongly to run when there seemed to be no threat.

“Run, Kevin. Run down the hall!” the voice spoke to Kevin’s spirit with urgency.

‘This must be God speaking,’ he thought. But, he felt embarrassed at the thought of grabbing Maritza’s hand and running down the hall just then. ‘The plumbers will wonder what had gotten into me,’ a thought said. ‘They’ll think I’m crazy. And, so will Maritza.’

“Run, Kevin!” the voice said again with urgency.

Just as the voice spoke to Kevin’s spirit, one of the men walking toward them reached into his tool belt and started to draw out a silenced pistol from a pouch. But, the gun was stuck in some fabric, so it didn’t come out immediately: the muzzle of the silencer was trapped in the pouch.

Maritza let out a stifled scream as she watched the man start to draw out the gun. At that moment, Kevin felt a surge of adrenaline flow through his veins and a surge of something else with it. He suddenly charged toward the man and slammed his fist into his jaw, knocking the man backward and into his comrade. Kevin had no idea that he had just struck Scorpion in the jaw, and Python had to catch his falling companion.

With that diversion in place, Kevin grabbed Maritza’s hand and both charged down the hallway away from the fake plumbers. After they had run seven meters, Kevin glanced back over his shoulder and let go of Maritza’s hand. The man he had knocked over was starting to stand up, and his companion was reaching for a silenced pistol in his tool belt.

Kevin said between breaths: “Maritza, … we… need to… run… faster.”

“Okay,” she said, praying silently that God would give them the strength to reach the end of the hall and make it to safety.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Three dampened gunshots echoed down the hall as Python fired his silenced pistol at Kevin. Two bullet rounds missed Kevin completely, but one round zipped through the air toward his back. A fraction of a second before it would have hit him, the round suddenly slowed to a complete stop and fell out of the air, plinking onto the linoleum floor of the corridor.

“Father God, protect us from those bullet,” Kevin said as he ran, unaware of what had just happened.

Kevin was breathing harder and was wishing that he had spent more time going on jogs. He and Maritza were running as fast as they could. Kevin glanced back over his shoulder and saw that the crooks were now making chase, and they were not far behind. They evidently had decided against relying on their silenced pistols. ‘Perhaps, they were afraid of accidentally killing Maritza. And, perhaps, they are employed by the same people Dietmar works with,’ Kevin thought as he ran.

Kevin and Maritza slowed as they reached the door at the end of the hallway. He popped it open and both emerged into daylight and found themselves in a verdant lawn behind the apartment building. The lawn ran up to a row of arborvitae bushes, which formed a straight barrier along the lawn and beside a nearby parking lot.

As they approached the bushes, Kevin spotted a man, to his left and behind him, running through a parking lot around the side of the apartment building. The man was charging straight toward Kevin and Maritza like an angry bull. As the man approached, Kevin recognized him. It was Dietmar, his former friend.

“Give us the strength to escape them, dear Father God. I’m sorry for not listening to you earlier,” Kevin prayed as he ran toward the bushes.

As Kevin ran, he was surprised at how fast Dietmar was running. He didn’t think Dietmar could run that quickly. But, now, Kevin realized that the 29-year-old VR gamer was in much better shape now than he was a year ago, and Dietmar was much stronger.

Prickly branches brushes past Kevin and Maritza as they reached the arborvitae bushes. Just as they were about to emerge from the bushes, both tripped on some protruding roots and fell to the grassy ground on the other side of the hedge row. Kevin sprang up to his feet and reached toward Maritza with his right hand. To his dismay, he saw that she was squeezing her left ankle and wincing.

“Kevin,” Maritza said as she took his hand, “my ankle feels sore. Pray for me.”

Kevin helped her to her feet and said, “We have to run, but I will pray for you.”

“I’ll try to run,” she said.

Then, together, they starting running again, and Kevin let go of her hand. They were on a green lawn which bordered a different parking lot than the one they had just come from. Nearby, an apartment complex rose up high above the arborvitae bushes. A semi-busy street was just ahead across the parking lot, but it seemed like a long ways away.

“With God’s help, we can do it,” Kevin said quickly, before glancing back toward the direction they had come from.

Strangely, the three men were not following them through the bushes, at least not yet. Then, Kevin prayed silently. He felt anxious about Maritza’s ability to run, for he noticed that she was limping slightly.

“Dear Father God,” Kevin said silently, “please heal her ankle and give her the ability to run. Please get us to safety. In Jesus Christ’s name, amen.”

Kevin glanced over his shoulder again and saw the fake plumbers in the midst of plowing through the bushes like angry bulls. Dietmar was not far behind them. As they ran, the crooks shoved their silenced pistols back into their tool belts. The weapons would be very hard to aim since the criminals were some distance from their prey and had rapid heartbeats from running. Their hands would be too unsteady to take any accurate shots.

Whatever had delayed the plumbers moments ago was now gone, and they were running as fast as they could go. One of the “plumbers” charged ahead of the rest and closed the distance between himself and Maritza, who still limped slightly. She glanced back to see a muscular hand reaching out toward her.

It was only two meters away from her, and closing in, when a sudden surge of energy shot through Maritza’s body and through Kevin too. The crook’s hand was now just a meter away from Maritza. As the hand drew closer, Maritza and Kevin suddenly began to accelerate. It felt as if something were pushing on them and strengthening their bodies so that they could go faster than they had ever run before.

The distance grew between Maritza and the crook. Two meters, three meters, and then five meters separated her from the gangster. That distance quickly increased to seven meters. They were halfway across the parking lot and getting closer to the street.

Suddenly, a blue Delta Solarstorm sedan pulled into the parking lot and swung in front of Kevin and Maritza. It stopped, blocking their path of escape. Kevin felt his heart begin to sink. ‘Is this another crook?’ he thought. Then, he noticed the driver’s face. It was Konrad. Joy began to fill his heart.

In a few seconds, Maritza and Kevin had reached the car. Quickly, they popped open the back door closest to them, and both hurriedly climbed in. Kevin shut the door and the car pulled out quickly before he could buckle his seat belt.

The gangsters slowed to a stop, breathing hard, and watched as the blue car left the parking lot and merged with traffic on a nearby street. Before long, it was gone from sight.

Wheezing from running, Dietmar bent over and placed his palms on his knees. He felt like his lungs were burning. He hadn’t run so fast in a long time. The daily jogging he did wasn’t enough to give him the power to intercept Kevin or his girlfriend. Scorpion and Python were breathing hard, but less hard than Dietmar. They were in better shape than he was, and regularly jogged a distance of eight kilometers (5 miles).

But, neither of them could catch Kevin and his girlfriend. This amazed Dietmar, who had thought Python and Scorpion would have easily taken down the escaping duo. ‘What gave Kevin and that blond girl the power to outrun us?’ Dietmar wondered. ‘And, why did I, Python, and Scorpion all trip at the same time before we passed through the bushes?’

Unknown to Kevin and Maritza, the three criminals had tripped on something invisible to them and had fallen to the ground. As they hit the ground, something pressed against their backs, keeping them from getting off the ground as fast as they would like. But, after a several moments had passed, the weight lifted and, picking themselves up, the criminals had rushed toward the bushes. Unseen by the crooks, invisible beings* were watching over the two Christians they were pursuing. [* See Psalm 34:6-10.]

[See also Isaiah 40:28-31, and Psalm 23:4, and Psalm 91.]

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CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER 9.

AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 9 ("The Trap"):

'... Kevin watched as one crook rolled down his window on the passenger’s side. The man drew out a silenced pistol and leaned out the open window with his gun. It was clear what he intended to do. Konrad, glancing at his rearview mirrors, accelerated the car, trying to increase the distance between them and the gunman. But, the van accelerated too.

...

Pow! Pow! The silenced pistol fired off two shots, which struck the asphalt near the rear tires of the Delta Solarstorm, missing the tires by a few centimeters. ...'

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