A NOVEL ─ THE ADVENTURES OF KEVIN KRAMER IN COMMUNIST EUROPE ─ A Novel about the End Times ─ Chapter 3 ─ "Being Pursued"

 (Click here for the previous chapter. ◄► Click here for the next chapter.)
➽ Or, Click here for Chapter 1.
Right click the link and select "Open link in new tab."

_________

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.

_________________________

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.]

 _________________________

Chapter 3

"Being Pursued"

(Click here to open a list of links to chapters. 
Right click the link and select "Open link in new tab.")

___________________

From the previous chapter:

Rap. Rap. Rap. Suddenly, a loud knock came at the door. It startled him, and Kevin almost dropped the book. He placed it in his back pocket and started toward the front door. The loud knocking continued. Rap. Rap. Rap.

His sister excused herself as she quickly walked past him. Then, as she reached the door, she peeked through the spy hole again, and quickly turned back toward Kevin, with some fear in her eyes.

She whispered loudly, “It’s the secret police.”

______  ______   ______

Rolf and Svenja’s Apartment in Kühnburg

With her heart beating fast, Svenja opened her apartment door, revealing two men dressed in dark, zipped-up jackets, tan or black tactical trousers, and black boots. Each had a short haircut and a grim expression on his face. To Kevin, who stood beside his sister, they looked tough, but professional.

“You are Mrs. Berger, I presume?” a stocky man with short sideburns and dark-blond hair said. He stared at Svenja with piercing, blue eyes and with an emotionless expression plastered on his face.

“Yes, I am Svenja Berger,” Kevin’s sister said, trying to hold back some nervousness and appear as calm as possible. “And, who might you be?” She knew that they were secret police, but she wanted to know their names.

“I am officer Schmidt, and this is officer Overbeck,” Mr. Schmidt said, nodding toward his coworker, who had short, black hair, a wiry physique, and a scar on his chin. “We are officers from the Office of Religious and Political Observation.* We would like to ask you a few questions.” [* Note: This is a fictional government office of the secret police.]

“What would you like to know?” Svenja said, standing in the doorway.

She didn’t want them to enter and search her house because she knew that the secret police would locate the small Bibles Tamara had given her and Rolf if a house search was conducted right then. If the Bibles were discovered, Tamara and Rolf would be arrested and placed in prison, awaiting a possible sentence of 8 years of hard labor.

“Has anyone been sleeping over at your house recently?” Mr. Schmidt said, pulling out a stylus and a digital tablet from a pocket.

“No,” Svenja lied.* “Only I and my husband have been residing here. I invited my brother over for supper a couple times recently, including tonight. That’s all.”

Kevin knew that what she had just said was a half-truth and a lie. It was true she had invited him that night, but he had not been invited a couple times recently. However, he kept his mouth shut. [* Note: At this point in the story, Svenja is a non-Christian. Jesus Christ is the truth (John 14:6). He never lied. And, we must follow in His steps. See 1 Peter 2:21-22.]

“Have you seen any homeless people around your neighborhood lately?” Mr. Overbeck said, speaking up for the first time. He was a wiry man with a rugged face and a strong jaw. His dark hair was slicked back and a long, thin scar appeared on his chin.

“No,” Svenja lied again.

Then, Mr. Schmidt held up his tablet screen for Svenja to see. It displayed a picture of Tamara viewed from a security camera on a telephone pole. The picture was snapped when the camera had zoomed in on her face. It was surprisingly detailed for something taken from such a distance away. Tamara was wearing a green sweater and baggy ladies’ jeans. She was sitting on a bench beside her backpack.

“Have you seen this woman before?” Mr. Schmidt said.

_ _ _ _

Only highly organized religious institutions, such as Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and other “high-church” groups were legal under the new, communist regimes. Islam and other religions were also legal, though all religions were highly monitored and regulated by the secret police of the new European governments.

_ _ _ _

But, Svenja was a skillful at lying, and she hid her alarm very cleverly with a faked sneeze that was convincing even to Kevin. She “sneezed” again and then blinked several times. Then, she looked at the picture again. After ten seconds had passed, Svenja said, “I’ve never seen that woman before.”

“Mrs. Berger, if you see her anywhere, we expect you to report her to the police department,” Mr. Overbeck said. “She is a non-conformist Christian and is a very dangerous person, who is actively part of a seditious plot to overthrow the government. We know she is part of a network of non-conformist Christians.”

Overbeck drew from his jacket pocket six crisp photographs of five men and two women taken by high-definition security cameras. He handed them to Svenja. Then, he continued, saying, “If you see any of these people, we expect you to make a report to the police station. You can do that with an app for your phone.”

As he said that, Overbeck drew a laminated card from the same coat pocket. The card had the name of the app and a smartphone code printed on it.

“We also must warn you,” Schmidt said sternly as he reentered the conversation. “If you see any of these people and refuse to report them, then you will be considered one of them. And, you will be hunted down and arrested. You understand?”

(Click on this link to read brief descriptions
about some of the characters from this novel.)

“I understand,” Svenja said without betraying her emotions.

“Good. Thank you for your time,” Schmidt said.

With that, the two men left and walked down the first floor hallway, past rows of apartment doors. Feeling relieved that they were gone, Svenja shut her door and locked it.

“That was close,” Kevin said. “I just wonder if you should have lied to them like that.”

But, Svenja wasn’t in the mood for talking. She hurried down the apartment hallway and entered her room, shutting the door. Kevin realized that there was no point in him staying any longer. It seemed that his life was changing faster than he was able to cope with. He had just become a Christian, and now he was finding out the hard way that it would require giving up something. But, his desire to read the Bible Tamara had given him was growing.

After three minutes had passed, the front door suddenly clicked and then swung open, and Rolf entered, bowing to avoid bumping his head against the door frame. He was carrying an envelope.

“What is that, Rolf?” Kevin said, approaching him.

The giant reached into the envelope and drew out a folded sheet of paper. “It’s a letter with a message,” Rolf said.

_ _ _ _

All sermons and speeches would have to be submitted about a week prior to their delivery. And, preachers and speakers were only allowed to deliver their sermons or speeches if they had written permission. Consequently, many Churches went underground, meeting in discrete locations.

_ _ _ _

Rolf handed the letter to Kevin and he perused over it. The message was composed in German and it said simply: “A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.” Beside the statement were the numbers 1, 4, and 5.

Kevin read it aloud. Then, he let the letter droop in his hand as he pondered its meaning. “Rolf, do you know what that means or where that is from?”

“I believe that is from the book of Proverbs, a book in the Bible. It sounds like it, anyways,” Rolf said as he shut the door behind him.

“But, what do the numbers 1, 4, and 5 mean?” Kevin said, wondering aloud. “Are they a security code?”

“I don’t know exactly – actually, yes I do,” Rolf said. “I think the first two numbers relate to the chapter number, and the 5 represents the verse number.”

“So, it must be Proverbs chapter 14, verse 5,” Kevin said as he reached into his back pocket where he had kept the compact Bible.

He began turning through the Bible until he had reached the reference he believed it to be. His eyes lit up with excitement almost immediately. He had found the exact reference. It was the same as Rolf had said.

“But, I wonder what it means. That verse and reference are the only things I can see on the letter,” Rolf said as he scratched his chin. 

Just then, the door of the master bedroom opened and Svenja came out slowly. “I wish I didn’t get myself into this mess. I didn’t realize that I’d be in over my head,” she said to herself out loud.

“What’s the matter, dear?” Rolf said, turning toward his wife.

“You didn’t see them walk by?” Svenja said as she approached her husband.

“Who?” Rolf said.

“Secret police,” she blurted out.

“Secret police? They’ve been here? I didn’t notice anyone who resembles the secret police, but I must have missed them,” Rolf said, looking down at his wife from his colossal height.

“They were here and they threatened us that if we didn’t report seeing these faces, if we saw them, then we’d be arrested,” Svenja said, holding forth the photos of five underground Christians that officer Overbeck had handed her.

Rolf felt his heartbeat quicken. It had alarmed him that the police had come and gone while he was out at his mailbox trying to figure out the secret message and trying to see if the message carrier had given him anything else to go on.

Suddenly, Rolf’s smartphone rang. He glanced at the screen with a confused look on his face. Then, he answered the call.

“Hello,” Rolf said. “Who is this?”

“I am the man who sent you the letter,” the voice in his speaker said.

“What? You? You gave me that letter with the verse on it?” Rolf said, bewildered.

“Yes. I want to meet you, your sister, and your brother-in-law in a forest several miles from Kühnburg. The directions, the time of meeting, and the date are on your letter, in invisible ink.”

“How do I read the directions then?” Rolf said.

“Hold the letter above a candle flame until you see the map,” the voice replied.

“Who are you?” Rolf said.

“You’ll find out when we meet,” the voice said. “But, I will say that I am someone who cares about your family.”

With that, the caller ended the conversation and Rolf sighed and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He turned to his wife and brother-in-law and informed them about what he had heard.

“So, a candle flame will make the invisible ink visible,” Kevin said. “That is impressive. I wonder, though, who the caller was. Do you think he is someone we can trust?”

“I don’t know if we can trust him or not, but he has knowledge of the Bible,” Rolf said.

“But, that doesn’t mean we can trust him, because any government agent could look up Bible verses, even though the Bible basically is banned,” Kevin said. “This could be a clever trap set for us by the secret police. Going to that secret location might bring us straight to prison.”

“I was encouraged by seeing Tamara’s faith in God. I want to ask God about this,” Rolf said. “And, I believe God will show me what to do.”

Without any more hesitation, Rolf took the letter to the kitchen and reached into a drawer where candles were kept. Then, he selected a candle, lit the wick, and held the letter directly above the flickering finger of hot gas. In the lambent flame of the candle, a crude map slowly began to appear. It showed road names and gave written instructions on how to reach a specific place in the Kühnburg forest* along a remote forest road. [* Note: It’s a fictional forest.]

Satisfied he now knew how to get there, Rolf closed his eyes and said quietly, “Dear Father God, I would like to know if I can trust the caller who sent me this letter. Should I go to the spot on this map and wait for a stranger to show up? Or should I forget about all of this?”

Then, Rolf listened for God’s quiet voice. The others, hearing Rolf’s low voice quietly praying, had become still, in respect for him.

Several seconds passed before Rolf heard something very quiet and very calmly speak to him. Then, he knew it was God. The quiet voice said gently, “Rolf, My son, I am with you. I am your Father God and best Friend. You are precious to Me. I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Rest in Me. I want you to know that you can trust the sender of the letter. Go to meet him with your wife and your brother-in-law. They need to meet this man and those with him too. I will guide you, My son. And, I the Lord your God and Abba Father have spoken.”

Rolf looked up and opened his eyes, expecting to see Jesus, but he still felt that someone kind and gracious was standing right beside him. He realized that it was Jesus Christ and God the Father in Jesus who were beside him. He could feel the loving presence of God, and he wanted to worship Him.

After another minute had passed, Rolf blinked several times and whispered, “Thank you. I will go there, Father God. Thank you for your love and grace.”

Then, he walked into the living room where Kevin and Svenja were standing and informed them about what God had just told him. After she heard him out, Svenja said, “So, when do we go? What is the date of the meeting?”

“It is two days from now,” Rolf said.

“That is a Saturday,” Kevin said. “I have that day off, but I had told my friends yesterday that I was planning on hanging out with them at Dietmar’s house on Saturday. They wanted me to check out their new, virtual reality games.”

“You can cancel that meeting, can’t you?” Rolf said.

“I’ll have to cancel visiting my friends, but they will not understand why. They thought I was interested in virtual reality games. And, I like them a little, but not as much as they do. What should I tell them?” Kevin said.

“Tell them the truth, but don’t tell them all that we will be doing that day,” Rolf said. “You could say that you will be spending time with some other friends that day.”

Kevin frowned in thought. “Okay. I’ll do that. But, it will be hard to convince them that I still am a player.”

___________________

Maritza at the Soap Factory Break Room

“Maritza,” a brunette, German girl said to Maritza as she entered the break room for her last break.

“What is it Melanie?” Maritza said, stopping near the door.

“Have a seat first,” Melanie said.

The room contained five wooden tables, cushioned folding chairs, magazines, and vending machines. Melanie was seated at one of the tables with a magazine spread out before her.

Maritza walked past a snack vending machine, a soda machine, and a flat-screen TV mounted to the wall, and sat down in front of her. The TV displayed communist propaganda, which was passed off as news. It droned quietly in the background.

“Did you know that the soap factory is going to soon require us to get biometric and photo identification?”

“Where did you hear that from?” Maritza said, leaning forward toward her coworker.

“I overheard some of the managers talking,” Melanie said. “They said it would require everyone to have a thumb print, a hand print, voice recognition identification, and a photo which would be used by security cameras to biometrically track our faces and thus our locations in the factory.”

“That sounds a little scary,” Maritza said.

“It is scary because I sometimes buy black-market stuff from coworkers, and you know they don’t want us buying and selling stuff because they can’t regulate that. With this technology, I wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.”

Maritza didn’t believe the black market was a good place to buy from unless it was something important, such as a Bible or Gospel tracts, but she understood Melanie’s concern.

The topic changed to more light-hearted subjects, and the young women chatted for a while. But after five minutes had passed, Melanie suddenly became serious and said, “That reminds me of something very disturbing. I saw this tall, ruggedly-handsome, blond guy hanging around the reception area of the factory… you know where wholesalers come to discuss issues or sometimes make purchases.”

“Yeah,” Maritza said, curious about this person Melanie was speaking of. While she had been at the nature preserve, Maritza had felt that someone was watching her. She hadn’t seen anyone looking at her, due to clusters of densely-spaced bushes, but she had had a strange feeling of being watched.

“Well,” Melanie continued, saying, “he was wearing a business suit, but he appeared rather strong. Okay, so he looked over at me with this creepy look, but when I looked his way, he turned his face. When my back was turned toward him, I felt his stare, but thankfully, I was soon out of his sight. Two hours later, I went outside near the factory entrance for my lunch break. I was thinking of eating at a fast food place nearby.”

“As I was leaving the factory,” Melanie said, leaning forward, “I saw a group of arborvitae bushes move slightly. Through a gap between two bushes, I saw him. I saw his face. It was the same creepy, blond guy, but he wasn’t wearing a business suit. Instead, he was dressed in a green turtleneck shirt and black trousers. He was looking at something in his hand, maybe a smartphone. He seemed to be busy and he didn’t seem to notice me. So, I decided to let the building security know about this creep. After I had talked to the security chief, he sent a guard over to the bushes where I saw the man, but they said they saw no one there. He must have left soon after I passed by.”

“That is unsettling,” Maritza said, wondering if the blond man was wanting to kidnap her or someone at the factory.

“You better watch out for a tall, strong-looking man with blond hair,” Melanie said as she stood up from the table. She walked over to a vending machine and purchased some peanut-butter-coated crackers. After receiving them and ripping the packaging open, she returned to her seat at the table.

Then, Melanie said, “So, do you have a boyfriend?”

Maritza blushed and said, “I’m not so especially attractive. Why do you ask that?”

“Yes you are, Maritza,” Melanie said, patting her coworker on the arm. “You can’t help that you’re beautiful. And, I’m glad you’re not arrogant about your looks, but you should watch out for kidnappers. You should probably have your boyfriend, or husband, pick you up from work.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend or husband,” Maritza said.

“You divorced then?” Melanie said, leaning back in her chair.

“No,” Maritza said. “It’s just hard to find guys that are decent.”

“I know of a number of guys that are decent, and that you might want to hang out with,” Melanie said.

“That’s okay,” Maritza said, standing up. “I’m fine. I think I’ll check my work schedule now. So, I’ll see you later.”

She knew that the guys Melanie hung out with were worldly and immoral, but they were not criminals like the blond man that Melanie had seen. But, being an underground Christian, Maritza was interested in God first of all, and then in having a godly, Christian boyfriend. But, she hadn’t met the right person yet.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Being Pursued

Two hours later, her shift ended and Maritza was heading out the door with her bicycle and backpack. She had decided to bring a bicycle to avoid having the blond man follow her down the street on foot. She had come from a special room in the factory which had been designated for storing bicycles, skateboards, and longboards. And, Maritza was grateful for that room.

Then, once she was in the front parking lot of the factory, Maritza hopped onto the bicycle and began pedaling down a sidewalk and onto a nearby street. Shortly after she had passed a certain alley between two brick buildings, Wolf, the blond-haired crook, stepped out from the alley and quickly climbed into a red Golden Panther 2.0* convertible, an electric automobile, which was parked along the curb. He slowly accelerated to keep himself at a distance from Maritza’s ‘cycle. [* This car is fictional.]

Multi-storied, brick buildings passed the Golden Panther 2.0 on both sides of the road, and a few pedestrians turned to look his way, seeing a fancy car moving rather slowly. A honk jolted Wolf and he uttered some profanity as he glanced in his rearview mirror. A police car was right behind him. So, he accelerated up to the speed limit. Doing so, he passed by Maritza and realized his mistake in driving a car to pursue her.

An intersection was fast approaching and the traffic light was red, so he had to stop. She turned to the right at the intersection and continued pedaling down the intersecting street, while Wolf had to wait for the traffic light to turn green.

He signaled to turn right, but realized he was in the wrong lane to make the turn. Cars and trucks blocked his path into the right lane. He would have to go straight across the intersection, and then see if he could slip into the right lane, and turn right at the next intersection, but it was rush hour and traffic was slow, being nearly bumper-to-bumper.

At the next intersection, Wolf had to stop and wait for two to three minutes. His left blinker signal was flashing, so he forced himself to relax, even though he felt like racing through the streets with no regard to safety. But, relaxing was hard for a man with an illegal occupation.

Focusing like a horse preparing to run a race, he didn’t notice a 12-year-old girl on the sidewalk near his car, holding a large squirt gun, which had a three-liter capacity.

A 10-year-old boy, carrying a similar giant squirt gun, ran along the sidewalk just in front of Wolf’s red convertible, which was open to the elements. The young girl shoved a plunger forward and released a spray of water from the nozzle of her water gun. As she did, the boy ducked, and the entire stream of water struck the blond man in the shirt and face. Wolf's collared shirt was soaked, and some important papers in his breast pocket were now saturated with water.

Before he could utter a word, the children ran off down the sidewalk and back to their mother, who was chatting with a friend. And, the traffic signal changed a second later. “Does this always have to happen to me?” Wolf grumbled to himself as he accelerated.

___________________

CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER 4.

AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 4 ("Making an Important Decision"):

'... Kevin felt himself tremble with guilt and discomfort. He hesitated for several tense seconds, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. ...'