A NOVEL ─ THE ADVENTURES OF KEVIN KRAMER IN COMMUNIST EUROPE ─ A Novel about the End Times ─ Chapter 15 ─ "The Wolf Is Coming"

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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 landmass. At one time, it had a communistic past. During a third world war, communism revived in this country as its 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 15

"The Wolf Is Coming"

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~ Previously ~

Jackal, an agent of the crime organization Red Venom, had just arrived at Daniel and Monika Barnabus’s house, which sat in the depths of the Kühnburg forest in the Communist Republic of Germany. Pretending to be an “underground” Christian, Jackal has convinced several Christians to follow him out into the woods to help him bring some camping stuff over to Daniel’s house. Unknown to Kevin, several gangsters had emerged from some dense bushes. The Christians who had followed Jackal were then handcuffed.

Concerned about who this stranger was, Kevin had gone into a second-floor closet to seek God about the visitor.

Hearing from God

“Father God, who is this stranger here at Daniel’s house? I’m puzzled about him. Is he a true Christian or is he seeking to harm us?” Kevin said from within a walk-in closet on the second floor of Daniel’s house. “And, if he is seeking to harm us, what should we do?”

“My son, I am the Lord your God, and I love you very much,” God’s loving voice spoke to Kevin. “You, and Daniel, and the others, with Maritza, will go into an underground area where you will escape down a tunnel and arrive in the woods. There, I will lead you where to go. You will be able to escape from these wicked men that seek your life. And, yes, that man who visited Daniel’s house is actually one of the criminals who is seeking your lives. So, follow as I lead you, and all will go well. And, I the Lord your God and Abba Father have spoken.”

“Thank you, Abba Father God,” Kevin said.

He left the closet, striding quickly down the second floor hallway, and hurried downstairs, taking two steps at a time. Reaching the first floor hall, he hustled down it toward the living room. A closet door opened and Maritza stepped into the hallway right in front of him. He slowed to a stop.

She looked at him and said, “Kevin, what did God show you?” [Note: See 𝕵 down the page.]

Kevin informed her about what God had just told her. After hearing him out, she said, “God showed me the same thing too. He also said that the evil men are coming to Daniel’s house and will arrive in a matter of 23 or 24 minutes.”

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“We need to tell Daniel about this,” Kevin said.

The two headed off down the hallway and entered the living room. They quickly informed Daniel and Monika, and the rest of the people seated in the living room, about what God had shown them.

Then, Daniel said, “God has revealed the same to me, but I didn’t know we only had 23 minutes. I knew the time was short though. I just got done seeking God in the living room closet seconds before you two entered.”

“We have a very short time,” Maritza said. “Daniel, do you have a way of secretly reaching the forest outside this compound?”

“Yes,” Daniel said, “I do. It is an old tunnel system that connects the sub-basements of these houses to an underground bunker 800 meters from this house. I believe God is showing me to take us to the bunker down the tunnel. We will need to get all the people here notified and gathered into the living room in five minutes.”

“I’ll tell Alvin and Annette,” Monika said. “I think they’re in the guest house now.”

“Let’s go, Maritza. We can help the families gather their children,” Kevin said as he looked at his girlfriend.

She turned to him and nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

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Together, they left the house, and Rolf and Svenja followed them. Kevin and Maritza found some older children playing outside with toys, and Maritza told them to go to the living room of the blue house. Meanwhile, Rolf and Svenja walked around the estate, searching for other children. After five minutes had passed, Daniel’s living room was starting to get very crowded.

“Brothers and sisters,” Daniel said, speaking loudly, “may I have your attention, please?”

All the adults and older children looked at him, wondering what he was about to say.

“We have a large group of people staying at this estate,” Daniel said, letting his eyes sweep across the faces looking at him. “God is providing for all our food, water, housing, and clothing needs. All our needs are met by God’s miraculous supply. But, we are facing a new threat.

“Just recently today, a man, who I foolishly allowed to enter this estate, has lured three of our people into the woods. God has shown me, and a few others in our group, that the man, who called himself Hans, is an impostor and is not a true Christian. He is working for a criminal organization that conducts bounty-hunting. They capture Christians and sell them to the secret police, who pay them well. Our lives are in danger. So, we must follow God and do as He leads us. I ask that you seek God to guide you in what He would show you to do, but don’t panic. God has not left us. He will guide us through this difficult time.”𝕲

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[𝕵. "..Kevin, what did God show you?" See Jeremiah 33:2-3.]

[Jeremiah 33:2-3 says: "[2] Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; [3] Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."] 

[𝕲 See Isaiah 41:10, John 16:13, Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and Psalm 18.]

[Isaiah 41:10: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."]

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As Maritza listened to Daniel speak, she knew all too well that following God’s best will, and listening to His still, small voice were very important. ‘A lot of problems could have been avoided if I had just followed what God had shown me to do,’ she thought to herself.

“We are going to head down into an underground tunnel system, which will take us to a Cold-War era, underground bunker,” Daniel continued. “The criminals don’t know it exists, but we must look to who God is and follow His leading. Again, don’t panic. Just walk calmly and orderly, and follow me. I am going to lead you in the right way. And parents, make sure your children are with you at all times. Okay, please check to see if anyone is missing.” [Note: See 𝕸 down the page].

After Daniel had finished his speech, the parents began looking over the faces of their children and counting, to make sure all were present.

“I can’t find my little Heinrich. Where is Heinrich?” Corina, a German lady said, with concern in her voice.

“I’ll go look for him,” her husband, Ewald, said as he walked toward the front door. “He might be playing outside somewhere.”

Ewald stepped out the door, followed by Abdul. The young, middle-eastern man said, “I’ll help you find him. I think he might be playing near the garden.”

The two jogged over to the garden area, which was situated beyond the guest house behind a stand of pine trees. In the vegetable garden, tomato plants, carrots, and other plants were in their early stages of growth since it was still the spring. But, the little boy was nowhere to be seen. Concerned, Ewald said, “I’ll go outside the fence and look there. You can stay inside.”

“But, that’s dangerous. What about the criminals?” Abdul said. “I think we should ask God where to search.”

“I don’t have time for that. I’ve got to go,” Ewald said as he jogged away toward the gate.

He reached it and drew out a key. Unlocking the padlock, he swung it open. Passing through the gate, Ewald ran along the outer side of the chain-link fence. He looked anxiously at every bush, wondering if one of them might be hiding his son. In doing so, Ewald didn’t realize that he was being watched.

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[𝕸. "...but we must look to who God is..." See Isaiah 26:3-4 and Matthew 6:21-24.]

[Isaiah 26:3-4 says: "[3] Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. [4] Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:"]

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"The Attack"

Sitting on an upper limb of a tall maple tree, wearing a camouflage suit, Rat held binoculars up to his face and studied the compound with his sharp and nervous eyes. He could see Abdul walking with his eyes closed as he sought God. Not long ago, Rat had spotted Abdul and Ewald leaving the three-story, blue house. He had planned on firing a dart at both of them when they came within range of his tranquilizer gun.

“Ewald,” Abdul shouted suddenly as he turned toward the fence gate, “God is showing me your boy is in the bathroom on the first floor of the blue house.”

“I need to do a quick check of the grounds,” Ewald said from the other side of the fence. “I just want to see for myself …”

Rat lowered the binoculars and quickly reached for a large tranquilizer gun, which hung from a nearby branch on a gun sling. The Christian man was walking in his direction, ignorant of Rat’s presence. Soon, he would be within range of the tranquilizer gun.

Suddenly, Abdul ran toward the fence and shouted, “Ewald, run back. You’re in danger! There is a man in a tree. I see him now. Run!”

Ewald listened and, with his heart pounding in his chest, he turned and fled back toward the gate. Had he continued walking for three more seconds, Rat would have raised the gun to a firing position and tranquilized him. But, now, Rat’s prey was fleeing. A running target would be very hard to hit with a tranquilizer gun. However, Rat was not going to let his prey escape that easily.

He pressed a button on his two-way headset radio and notified the rest of the gang that the Christians were aware of their presence. Wolf’s voice then came into Rat’s earbuds and said, “This is Wolf. First layer, slip into the compound now. Second layer, remain in the woods to catch anyone escaping the first layer. Go now! Over.”

From the woods, the first group of crooks charged toward the compound and drew out wire cutters. In a few seconds, they had cut through the chain-link fence and had slipped into the compound from several directions.

A young man, named Wilfred Ernst, who had just come out of a back door of the green, two-story guest house, was taken by surprise. And Scorpion was approaching the clean-shaven 22-year-old with a wicked grin on his face.

Seeing the crooks with their tranquilizer guns, Wilfred said fearfully, “Don’t shoot me.” His eyes were full of fear, and that was the look Scorpion liked to see in Christians.

Scorpion trained his tranquilizer gun at the young man’s neck, and snickered.

Wilfred had ignored the call to come to the living room of the blue house. Instead, the young, brown-haired man had played some fantasy video games he had snuck into the compound. He knew that Daniel didn’t want any worldly things on his property, but the desire to play the games was stronger than his desire to obey what he knew was right.

“You Christian,” Scorpion said, “I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to knock you out, and we’ll sell you to the secret police for a good sum of money.”

“No!” Wilfred said.

He realized that he had resisted God’s warning, and had not listened to the others telling him to come to the living room of Daniel’s main house.

Zip! A tranquilizer dart suddenly shot through the air and struck into his neck. It released its contents into his blood stream a second later. After a few seconds, he sunk to the ground and went unconscious. Scorpion removed his backpack, unzipped it, and drew out some handcuffs. He snapped a pair on Wilfred’s ankles before he snapped another pair around the young man’s wrists.

Then, Scorpion entered the guest house to do a search, and he immediately spotted another young man, who was standing in the main living room. Viktor Platz, a red-haired 19-year-old, was wearing a virtual reality headset and haptic gloves. He appeared to be engrossed in whatever virtual reality (VR) game he was playing. Rat walked up to him from behind and ripped the VR headset off his head.

“Hey, stop removing my headset! I’m in the middle of a game. I don’t care about those criminals. They won’t bother us,” Viktor said angrily as he started to turn around.

Then, his eyes widened as he saw Scorpion wearing tactical gear and armed with a silenced pistol, handcuffs, and a tranquilizer gun. The young, clean-shaven man began to tremble with fear. He said, “Who are you?”

“I’m your worst nightmare, Christian,” Scorpion said as he fired his tranquilizer pistol. Zip! A dart shot through 14 centimeters of air before it lodged in the Viktor’s chest. He collapsed to the carpeted floor a couple seconds later.

Scorpion locked him up the same way he had done with Wilfred, and then, using his two-way radio headset, he updated the rest of the team on his progress.

“This is Wolf. Good work, Scorpion,” Wolf said. “Keep looking for the Christians, men, they must be hiding in this compound. None of the second layer men have spotted any Christians in the woods. They must be here!” 

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[See Proverbs 16:25: "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."]

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Wolf Is in the House

Unlike Rat and some of his other men, Wolf had not spotted any Christians, but he had reached the compound sometime after Rat did. The blond-haired, muscular crook was walking up the staircase leading to the second story of Daniel’s blue house. The first story had been fully searched, and not a single adult Christians or child had, so far, been spotted in the house.

But, as Wolf reached the halfway point up the staircase, he paused. ‘What if the Christians are hiding in a basement?’ he thought. ‘That would be a perfect place to hide, and we haven’t checked out the basement yet. If they are in the second story, they will have to come down by way of a staircase. Why don’t I have some of my men stay on the first floor to stand guard while I take several to the basement level?’

Wolf quickly descended the stairs and ordered three of his men, Whiplash, Stingray, and Jackal, to help him find the basement staircase. In a few moments, they descended the stairs he had just been on and reached the first floor. The four men fanned out over the first floor, searching for a basement staircase. Wolf entered a bedroom and began rummaging through a closet filled with toys and clothing. ‘Perhaps the basement staircase is hidden in here,’ he thought.

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In the Basement

“This way, folks,” Daniel said as he hustled down the red-carpeted, main hallway of his basement.

Daniel’s basement was furnished and constructed to resemble any regular above-ground floor. It had nice carpeting, bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, etc. If Kevin had time to explore it, he would have liked to see what features it had, but there was no time now. With Maritza at his side, who was carrying a young girl in her arms, Kevin anxiously hoped and prayed that God would continue to protect them just as He had during the previous night. [Note: See 𝕶 down the page]. 

“Would you mind carrying my two-year-old son?” a lady asked Kevin. She was holding a baby. “My husband is carrying our four-year-old.”

“Certainly,” Kevin said to the mother. Then, he stopped and reached out to a little boy who was having trouble keeping up. “Here, little fellow, I’ll take good care of you.”

The little boy smiled and Kevin picked him up, holding him in his arms. Then, he hurried up to keep pace with the rest of the large group, which was passing through the hallway. Maritza had waited up for him and, once he reached her, they walked together, holding the children in their arms. As Kevin saw her with the little girl, he thought, ‘Maritza will be a good mother to our future children. After all, God showed me that she is to be my future wife.’

At the end of the hallway, Daniel stopped and knelt down. The Chadian man pressed a portion of the floor molding and it moved inward slightly, and a clicking sound came. Then, the molding moved outward on a small piston and rose up to reveal a small, number pad. Daniel entered a numerical code into numbered buttons, in the pad, and waited. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the wall at the end of the hall slid inward five centimeters. Humming quietly, it slowly hinged to the left, revealing a short, concrete corridor with a rectangular cross section. Lights in the ceiling snapped on, illuminating the corridor.

Without saying a word, Daniel walked down the corridor for five meters. At the end, he pushed open a steel door. His wife, his children, and other people followed him through the opening. As Kevin and Maritza reached the room beyond the steel door, their eyes opened in amazement. It was a large stairwell which descended deeper into the ground. Daniel was already descending to the first landing, and other adults with their children were not far behind him. 

Once all the people had passed through the opening into the concrete corridor, one of the men called down to Daniel, "Daniel, the door is open. Should it be shut? If so, I don't know how to shut it."

The Chadian man stopped on the stairs and looked up at the man who was leaning over the railing.

"I should have remained behind to shut it," Daniel said. "Thanks for reminding me. I'll hurry over there and flip the 'closing' switch."

Daniel climbed up the steps as fast as he safely could. Then, he hustled down the corridor until he reached a small, metal box fastened to a wall near the corridor entrance. He opened a small flap in the box, revealing a red switch, and he flipped it. As it snapped into a new position, the secret door slowly and quietly began to move back into its closed position, humming as it did. After several seconds had passed, the heavy door thumped shut, sealing off the corridor from the basement hallway.

Then, satisfied it was closed, Daniel jogged back down the corridor to rejoin his family at the stairwell. The group was waiting patiently for him near the stairs. After he had rejoined them, he, Monika, and the rest of the group continued descending the flight of stairs.

The group reached the bottom of the stairwell, after passing over two landings, and found themselves in a large, concrete room which had glowing fluorescent shop lights in the ceiling. Shadows dropped to the ground from metal boxes and wooden crates, which were stacked up against two of the four walls.

“Can I get someone to help me push these two crates to the left,” Daniel said as he placed his hand on two wooden crates which were stacked together and resting up against a wall.

Kevin set down the child and walked over to Daniel. Then, together, they pushed, and the crates slowly moved. Exerting some effort, they were able to move the containers over far enough to reveal a stainless-steel door. Daniel unlatched it and pulled it open, revealing a long, dark, 3.65-meter-wide tunnel.

He walked a meter into the tunnel and flipped a light switch on a metal box, which was fastened to a wall. One after another, fluorescent shop lights began to sequentially glow to life, starting from the entrance and going on far down into the darkness at the far end of the long tunnel. Some of the lights never came on, but most emitted a dim glow as they “warmed up.”

Daniel turned back to the people gathered in the storage room outside the tunnel.

“Folks,” he said, breathing slightly harder, “what we have here is a tunnel and an underground bunker. It was built during the Cold War. Are you willing to follow me down to the underground bunker, which is at the end of the tunnel?”

“We have nowhere else to go,” a father said as he held his son in his arms.

“God will take good care of us,” Daniel said. “Just follow me, for I know the Lord is leading me this way.”

As he spoke, his German wife, Monika, and their son and daughter approached him.

Then, Daniel turned away from the group, and he and his family started walking briskly down the tunnel. Maritza walked up to Kevin with the little girl in her arms, and the little boy followed her. Kevin picked the boy up and carried him as he entered the tunnel with Maritza. He had a strong feeling that they needed to hurry.

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[𝕶. "...God would continue to protect them..." See Proverbs 3:5-8 and Psalm 46 and Psalm 62 and Psalm 91.]

[Psalm 91:1-3 says: “[1] He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. [2] I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. [3] Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”]

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Stingray Finds the Basement

“Boss, I found the staircase to the basement,” Stingray’s voice came into Wolf’s earbuds.

“Excellent,” Wolf said. “Tell me how to find it.”

“Go to the living room, and I will show you,” Stingray said.

Without saying another word, Wolf charged like a bull out of the children’s bedroom and down the hall, toward the living room. But, in his rush, he didn’t notice a round, plastic toy, until it was too late. As his right foot stepped hard onto the round toy, it rolled quickly, and he lost his balance. In seconds, he crashed to the floor. His tranquilizer gun flew to the ground and tumbled briefly before falling at the feet of Stingray.

The man with short, black muttonchops reached down to help his boss get up from the ground, but Wolf ignored Stingray’s hand and stood up on his own, feeling slightly foolish. He barked, “Get over to the living room.”

“Yes, sir,” Stingray said as he turned to leave.

Wolf stooped to pick up his fallen tranquilizer gun and felt some pain in his back, but he ignored it. Then, he made quick strides until he reached the designated room. A door was open in the rear wall of the living room, revealing a walk-in closet filled with coats, shoes, miscellaneous items, and a handful of board games. From the closet entrance emerged Scorpion with a grin on his face.

“You expect me to believe that a closet leads to the basement?” Wolf said, half amused.

“Come this way, Wolf,” Stingray said, motioning with a hand.

Wolf drew his silenced pistol and followed Stingray into the closet. Inside, Stingray crouched beside the left-hand closet wall. He pressed a section of the molding at the lower edge of the wall, and to Wolf’s amazement, a door hinged inward, revealing another room.

Stingray led the way into the secret compartment and flipped a light switch on a wall of the concealed chamber. The small room was then bathed in LED light. Wolf looked around the room, baffled by the cleverness of its construction. It contained a staircase which descended through a rectangular opening in the carpeted floor. The staircase was surrounded by a wooden railing for safety.

Just then, Jackal entered the secret compartment carrying a silenced uzi machine pistol.

“What’s that for?” Wolf said, looking at the fully automatic pistol.

“It’s to deal with anyone who gives us too much of a problem,” Jackal said.

“Good idea,” Wolf said. “Let’s go.” Then, he walked over to the staircase and began to descend the steep steps.

Before long, the three crooks reached the basement level and found themselves in a floor which resembled the first floor of most two-story homes. They were in a living room which had a fireplace and three sofas. An attached kitchen and dining room lay straight ahead of them. To their right, a carpeted hallway ran from the living room to the end of the basement level.

“Move out and do a search,” Wolf said.

“What about the other men? Should we send for more help?” Stingray said.

“No,” Wolf said. “We need them to patrol the surface. Some Christians might still be hiding in the other buildings or floors.”

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Walking Down the Tunnel

“I know we’ve been walking for a ways, and I know the children are getting tired, but let’s keep moving,” Daniel said. “It won’t be too long before we reach the end of this tunnel.”

The large group had been walking for ten minutes down the straight tunnel under the glow of the fluorescent shop lights. They had not heard any sounds except for their echoing footsteps, their own breathing, and the children who were often saying such things as, “Daddy, when will we get there?”

“Kevin,” Maritza said as she walked beside him.

“What’s that, Maritza?” Kevin said, turning to face her as he held the little boy in his arms.

“When we finally escape, if we do, where do you think God will have us go?” Maritza said.

Kevin noticed how she said the word “us.” And, he followed up his thought with a question. “What do you mean by us? Do you mean you and me?”

Maritza looked at him and smiled. “You thought I was just talking about you and me?”

“I didn’t say that, did I?” Kevin said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Well, actually, Kevin,” Maritza said, relaxing a little more, “I was wondering what God’s plans were for us.”

Just then, a man at the end of the procession shouted, “I hear sounds coming from the tunnel far behind us. It sounds like men talking with each other. We need to hurry. I think the criminals have located us!”

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Wolf Spots Something

“What’s this?” Wolf said as he bent down and touched a piece of green paper, which was jammed between a wall molding and the red, hallway carpet. The piece of paper appeared to be a slip of fake money for children.

Wolf had just reached the end wall of the basement hallway. And, the green slip of paper was jammed under the molding of that narrow wall.

He tried to pull the bill out from under the molding, but it didn’t budge. ‘That’s odd,’ Wolf thought to himself. ‘Why won’t it move? What is holding it down?’

He pressed his hand against the molding in several places until he felt a section of it move inward. Like it did for Daniel, the section of the molding moved inward, and then projected backward before sliding up to reveal a pad with numbered buttons. He tried pressing the buttons, but nothing happened. Then, frustrated, Wolf slammed his fist against the wall, in anger, and suddenly he cried out in pain. It felt like he had hit concrete which only had a thin layer of plaster coating it.

“Boss,” Stingray said as he hurried down the hall, “what’s that you’ve found?”

“It’s a … numbered keypad that won’t give me access to a secret door,” Wolf shouted, uttering a few profanities as he pointed at the solid wall.

“I have a way of dealing with obstacles,” Stingray said as he reached into two large pockets in his green tactical jacket and drew out five shiny, grey, cylindrical objects. Each was the thickness of a baseball-bat handle.

“I recognize those bombs,” Wolf said. “I forgot that we brought them with us.”

“I always come prepared,” Stingray said as he placed the bombs up against the wall.

“I’ll ascend the stairs leading up to the first floor while you prepare the explosives,” Wolf said.

“After I have started the chemical fuse, they will detonate in two minutes,” Stingray said.

Wolf gave orders to Jackal, over his two-way radio headset, to vacate the basement. Then, he scuttled over to the basement living room staircase and quickly began climbing. As Jackal emerged from a bedroom, he stifled a laugh at seeing his boss nervously trying to put as much distance between himself and the basement as he could. ‘If Wolf is scared of anything, it has to be explosives,’ Jackal thought to himself as he walked over to the living room and plugged his ears.

In a few moments, Stingray joined him and also plugged his ears. Both opened their mouths slightly, to prevent shockwave damage. Then, the bombs detonated. A bright flash of light and a loud, pounding concussion ripped through the air. Once it was over, Stingray walked down the hallway and smiled smugly.

At the end of the hallway, a concrete door was blasted inward, revealing an opening to a short, concrete corridor. In the walls in front of the concrete door, drywall was torn to shreds, revealing splintered, wooden wall joists. Passing through the concrete doorway, Stingray walked down the concrete corridor, followed by Jackal. They stopped before the stairwell Daniel had led the Christians down minutes earlier.

“I need to tell Wolf about this,” Stingray said. “But, the concrete will prevent him from getting the radio signal unless Wolf and I are using low, cave-radio frequencies.”

“Good idea,” Jackal said as he gazed over a railing and down to a staircase landing below.

Stingray ran back through the corridor and into the damaged basement hallway. Then, he pressed the talk button on his two-way headset radio and said, “This is Stingray. Wolf, we have found a staircase leading somewhere below the basement. Over,” Stingray said as he gazed over a railing and down to the bottom of the steps.

“This is Wolf. Very good, Stingray. I will be there promptly. Over,” Wolf’s voice said, with some excitement, in Stingray’s earbuds.

“This is Stingray. Wolf, will you tell the men to switch their headsets to the cave-radio setting? That way, we will be able to communicate through the concrete. Over.”

“This is Wolf. I got that, Stingray. Men, set your two-way radios to the cave-radio setting. Over.”

Several voices came in through Stingray’s earbuds, affirming the order.

“Those Christians will soon be in our hands,” Stingray said to himself as he chuckled.

_ _ _ _

[1 Peter 5:8-9: "[8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: [9] Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."]

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CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER 16.

AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 16 ("The Chase Underground"):

'... “Look out!” a man at the rear of the group of Christians exclaimed. “I see someone running toward us. He looks like he wants to kill!”

The Christians stopped in their tracks and looked behind them. Sure enough, a lone man was running toward them. He was armed with an uzi automatic pistol and a tranquilizer pistol. It seemed that he fully intended to stop their escape, and capture them. ...'

(Note: I do not make any money from this story. It is free to be read, printed, and distributed, but the text must remain unaltered.)

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