Authors: Wid Bastian
“Didn’t know you did that, Gail,” Peter said, breaking in. “What a wonderful act of charity. Well done.”
“I couldn’t just let them sleep in their cars. You saw some of them, Peter. More than a few of those families had no food, no money, no anything. Why it was … ”
“Can I finish, please?” Alex asked impatiently.
“Sorry,” Peter and Gail apologized, as one.
“It seems apparent to this reporter that by some method of persuasion, Mr. Carson has, in effect, as a federal inmate, taken complete control of Parkersboro prison. However benevolent his intentions for doing so may be, this is an unprecedented event and is perhaps the aspect of this story most deserving of attention by the public and the Federal Bureau of Prison authorities.”
“Didn’t Mr. Dweeb call the BOP region, or the D.C. office?” Gail asked.
“He did. According to the story they refused comment.”
“So this is how it’s going, one story sympathetic or at least open minded, the next skeptical or completely negative?” Peter wanted to be sure he had an accurate sense of the general media climate.
“I’d say that’s a fair assessment, Panos,” Alex confirmed. “Some of the articles in the small town papers are fantastic. No butt is covered or axe is ground in those pieces. The folks who came to Parkersboro were pretty much allowed to speak for themselves with no editorial filter. The large papers, Charlotte, Columbia, Raleigh, Richmond, are at best neutral, ‘dry’ as Julie put it, or openly hostile. Should I keep reading?”
“No, Alex,” Peter said. “That’s enough. Nothing you’ve said in any way comes as a surprise.”
“Want to hear about the magazine articles or the local television coverage?”
“No, my friend, I leave those things in your most capable hands.”
“What is all that commotion?” Gail wondered, nervously scanning the few yards of beach she could see in the darkness.
Soaking wet from the waist down Saul came stumbling up to the fire. Larry and Kenny were right behind him, also covered in salt water and sand and panting heavily. “Have you boys been playing in the mud again?” Gail mocked in her best “mad mommy” tone.
“Yes ma’am,” Saul answered meekly, playing along. “And we got our school clothes all dirty too.”
“Look out! Here he comes!” Kenny yelled.
Two hundred and seventy-five pounds of black muscle then lumbered up from the gloom and grabbed Saul and Larry. Using one arm for each, Malik hoisted his two brothers up by their heels, all the while giggling like a sixth grader.
“These little white boys think theys tough, Mr. Pete. Down there by the water they jumped me. Gonna teach ’em a lesson, for real.” And with that Malik turned and carried his “victims” back down to the ocean, no doubt to be duly “punished” for their insolence.
“I better follow them, Panos,” Kenny said. “Make sure no one gets hurt. Still got some sodas up here?”
Gail handed Kenny four cold bottles of pop from the cooler. Then he disappeared in the general direction of the surf, following after the laughter and the less than compelling cries for mercy.
“What about Jose and Tim? Where are they spending the night?” Alex wanted to know, making himself comfortable by the fire.
“They said that they had some things to do, calls to make,” Peter said, as he continued to slowly stir the embers. “Those two are never very far apart, you know that. I have no doubt they’ll join us here in the morning or sooner.”
Then for a few minutes no one spoke. All that could be heard was the gentle roll of the surf, the popping of the fire as the green wood mildly exploded, and a few distant squeals of delight from the “boys” who, despite having been at it for over two hours, did not seem yet to be tired of their childlike games.
Peter broke the silence.
“Walk with me?” he asked Julie.
Julie didn’t say a word, but rather stood and offered her hand. Peter took it and they made their way down to the water line and headed south, away from Malik and his playmates. After a couple of minutes worth of a casual stroll they were alone.
“Jules, I just wanted to make sure that you and Kevin are prepared. I know we haven’t had a chance to talk much since you got here. All of this is so … I don’t know, Jules.”
“Crazy?” Julie offered.
“I’ll accept that. Did you get Walter’s check? You guys set up?”
“Yes, but I feel guilty about taking his money, Peter. I don’t believe I came by it honestly.”
“He did sign the pre-nuptial agreement, didn’t he?”
“Yes, yes he did. But Peter, you know I never loved that man. I used him. He was a convenient means of getting what I wanted, nothing more. God forgive me.”
“And you think he was the only one in the relationship being used? Come on, Jules. You’re many things, naïve isn’t one of them.”
“What else am I, Peter?” Julie asked. She stopped walking and took both of his hands and placed them gently on her shoulders. She looked up at Peter longingly, hoping to stir in him something near the burning desire she was feeling at that moment, indeed at every moment when she found herself alone with him.
Memories flooded back in both their minds, the remembrance of a physical relationship that was for both of them close to perfection. It was a powerful allure and impossible to ignore.
“You, my dear,” Peter answered the only woman who would ever be his wife, “are the most beautiful creature God ever created.”
They shared a deep and long kiss. It was an expression of affection and desire long overdue between two people so passionately in love.
For a few minutes kisses and cuddling sufficed. But Julie had much more on her mind and she was determined not to waste this rare opportunity.
She took a step away from Peter and slowly undid the buttons of her blouse and unclasped her bra. In an instant she was bare from the waist up.
Peter was helpless. He could no longer resist. As he reached out his hand to touch his wife, to give her what they both wanted, a voice clear and strong rang out in his head.
“I did not save you for this.”
On the eve of the biggest day of his life, God reminded Peter of the absolute necessity for focus and self-control. The message could not have been more unwelcome, but it was heeded nonetheless.
“Julie,” Peter whispered, as he kissed his wife again and slowly rebuttoned her blouse. “I can’t do this. Please believe me, I want nothing more. I love you, I’m on fire for you. There will never be another woman for me.”
In the low light, Peter could see the tears start to cascade down Julie’s cheeks.
“Why do you keep breaking my heart, Peter?” Julie sobbed. “We were meant for each other. Don’t tell me this isn’t right. I know it is.”
“God does not want me thinking about you Julie, putting you ahead of Him. We are most certainly right, but the time is not.”
“Why can’t we both put Him first and still be together? You know I’d marry you again tonight, right here, right now, if you asked me.”
It was time. He’d kept the truth from her for too long. She deserved better.
“Jules, I’m not getting out of this alive. There is absolutely no possibility of a future for us. I’m very sorry, but I’ve known this was going to happen for a long time.”
“Peter, how do you know this?”
“Trust me, Jules, I know.”
“I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it. God wants you dead? That does not sound like the Christ you preach, Peter.”
“Through my death, many will come to Him. I am an example, Julie. He has a plan. I’m only an instrument in it.”
“Do the others know?”
“No, and you must not tell them. They have to do their part, fulfill their roles. Knowing that I’m going to be killed would only be a distraction. Satan would use their feelings for me against them.”
“As you must believe the devil is doing to me.”
“It’s not the same thing for you and me. We were once one flesh, Julie. In many ways we always will be, Kevin is proof enough of that. What you want, what I want, isn’t wrong, Jules. The problem is it conflicts with His will. We serve God, He does not serve us.”
“You’re trying to tell me … ”
“I’m trying to tell you that if we made love and became one flesh again, God knows I might not be able to leave you and Kevin behind. I’m a human being, Jules, not a machine.”
“Peter.”
“Yes.”
“I will never marry or make love to another man ever again.”
“I know, Jules, I know. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I need to quit asking you to do something that can’t be done. I’m so weak, Peter. Help me to learn how to trust, to believe like you do.”
“After tomorrow, Jules, it should become easier for you.”
“Do you believe that, I mean really believe that?”
“Yes. Once everything happens it will become impossible for any one of us to give as much thought to our own lives.”
They held each other on the beach for an hour or more kissing, talking, watching the tide roll in. Both of them knew that this was very likely to be their last peaceful night together away from the crush of the waiting world’s attention, for in less than twenty-four hours, both man and his institutions would be humbled by the power of the Living God. For a humanity that had become too proud of itself, too certain of its own preeminent place in the universe, too convinced of its own ability to understand and explain its existence apart from God, the lessons to come would not be well received. Especially by those with the most to lose, should mankind turn away from darkness and toward the Light.
Alone among the seven, Peter understood the totality of the consequences. His faith in God was unshakable, but he was also very aware that his fellow human beings had been given free will. Would the creatures God created in His “image and likeness” come together and transform the earth into the paradise it should be? Or would the evil one succeed in defeating them through their fear, greed, and pride?
Tomorrow the die would be forever cast. Nothing would ever be the same again.
Sixteen
For all but a few of the billions of people that call the earth home, this June nineteenth was like any other. An ordinary, midyear day; nothing special. The world continued to endure its miseries, the persistent plagues of greed, violence, hunger, and disease. In the developed countries, these problems were masked by social stability and economic prosperity, although even there, just under the surface, widespread need and desperation existed like dirt swept under the rug. Those souls unfortunate enough to be born in less affluent societies suffered more openly and severely.
Yet it could not be honestly said that the human race had remained in some stagnant backwater over time. Material life was improving; unevenly, but steadily. However skewed and at times chaotic, humanity appeared to be moving forward, judging progress by overall quality of life standards.
Why then was God so concerned? Why the need for such radical changes? Why act so boldly now, versus fifty years ago, or two hundred years in the future?
These were questions Peter had asked many times and in many different ways over the past year. Were we really doing such a poor job of governing ourselves? Had we strayed that far off of His course?
As Peter knelt and prayed alone in the trees behind the camp on this morning that would change all mornings he still found himself struggling with these issues. He knew better than to second guess God, he wasn’t even remotely trying to do that, but he was very much aware that the course He was about to set was in many ways an extreme departure from the one that had yielded such widespread benefits for so many for so long.
He listened as he prayed. There was a stillness in the woods, and all Peter could hear in his secluded spot a few hundred yards away from Parkersboro was the sound of a trickling wind flowing through the trees. Peter indulged himself in the solitude, seeking to focus his mind and his spirit as much as possible. He knew that very soon any amount of peace would be a precious commodity.
It was during these times the Lord made Himself known to Peter, usually not audibly or visually, but rather through the influence of ideas and Scripture.
Part of the answer to Peter’s question was simple, if not intellectually satisfying; God is omniscient and His ways are known only to Him. His will be done and by definition, His will is what’s best for His creation. Man is not God, he cannot see the outcomes God can see, the results of a continuation of business-as-usual on planet earth.
Peter also knew that it was not his mission to debate the issues of the day with others on man’s terms. He was not called to be another voice in the crowd, trying to be heard above the roar.
While few could see it, and fewer still would accept it, the future, if there was to be one, had to be ordered differently than the past. Incremental change over time, building slowly on successes, while suffering through painful mistakes, taking two steps forward and one back, this was no longer a viable option for the standard method of human progress.
The Spirit taught Peter that the dynamics of life on earth were changing. Self-centered materialism and violence as the primary means of political and economic control were rapidly reaching their limits as effective social systems. In many ways, as Peter knew by both reasoning and revelation, humanity was “pushing on a string,” living in the reflected glow of its past achievements, not realizing the dangers lying directly ahead.